Destiny Lost
by Twisted Fate MK 2
Summary: The Gods left remnant together, with the statement they would never return to it or influence it. Only, that wasn't true, was it? The God of light, ever the hypocrite and liar, didn't abandon Remnant. Instead, he reincarnated someone to do his bidding and bring Remnant to them. Cue, the now dead Pyrrha Nikos and the God of Darkness' ideas. / Supporter Requested by Espacole
1. Chapter 1

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_**Official Supporters:**_

_**Grand Priestess, Luna Haile -**_

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_**Priest, Xager the Chaos King **_

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_**Acolyte, Espacole**_

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_**Story requested by Supporter :**_

_**Acolyte, Espacole**_

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"_Do you believe in Destiny?"_

"_...Destiny…"_

"_...Yes."_

"Gah!" She shot awak, eyes squeezed shut just as soon as they'd cracked open once she saw the blinding light of what she guessed was morning.

Blinded like that and on her back, she flailed weakly and desperately. For her weapons, for a particularly sharp _rock_, she had no idea, she only _really_ knew for sure that her body burned like it was on fire and her muscles ached into the bone. Her hands found nothing besides steam and water, and she flared her Aura expertly to both protect herself and call on her weapons at the realization. Nothing came, though, and she rolled onto her stomach, forcing her aching, weary limbs to hold herself up and grunting from the effort.

"You know, watching this _is_ rather funny, but I'm getting bored. So…" The voice was snide, and hisses and clicks undercut each pandering intonation, sickening in the same sense her first bout had been when she'd shattered her opponent's nose and painted the floor of the Mistralian arena red.

Her stomach turned then, and turned now as well, but then a strange relief washed over her. Like a cool bath after a long day of training, or a hot meal to end a long day of work. Her muscles eased, her trembling ceased, and the burning fever she felt across her entire body lifted like a veil. Her eyes cracked open again and as soon as the pain of the brightness hit her, the brightness _faded_. Like shadows cast over wherever the infernal, nigh blinding light came from, dimming it until the formerly bright, noonday light surrounding them had faded to a late evening shade of ruddy oranges and blood reds mingling together into violets and pinks that stretched around her infinitely far.

"Yeah, I suppose even a Human would dislike my brother's… _Aesthetic_. Too many bright whites and silvers, eh?" She turned to the voice, now she could _see_ to do so, and recoiled at what she saw, crawling away and falling onto her behind, scrabbling even further while the _thing_ chuckled. Shaking its great, black, horned head the creature sighed, "Ah, you Humans, always such… _Amusing_ and _insulting_ reactions to seeing me."

The creature towered over her, and would have even if she'd been standing, though it was not a physically imposing creature. Or at least, not in the sense of being muscled and standing straight and taut. Instead, it was thin and wiry looking, with small muscles and horns that curved back and then spined randomly in other directions, like antlers made of the blackest nights she'd lived through, hued a strange purple in a way she couldn't explain properly. As though it had been made of pure blackness and shadow, and then light burst from it. The result was a violet that at the same time appealed to her somehow, and disgusted her, both deep down inside herself where her more primal emotions lay.

Its posture was as lacking in natural intimidation, shoulders slouched forward and head cocked to the side, inspecting its silvery fingernails as if looking for dirt and not even _bothering_ to meet her fearful, surprised gaze. Somehow, that made it all the more terrifying, for its lack of concern for a trained, adept Huntress sprawled on the ground in front of her. Every inch of it was also unclothed and, while its muscles were well defined and, in a word, flawlessly chiseled, there was no normal _beauty_ to it. Yet even as she observed that, something primal inside her stirred in revulsion and attraction to it.

The emotions all fought inside her head until it felt ready to burst, and the creature snapped its fingers, the emotions suddenly deadening. Like pain felt through adrenaline, echoing in the distance but not truly _there_ any longer.

"Are you quite finished coping with what I look like?" The creature asked snidely, turning pure, bright violet eyes on her. She blinked, mouth opening and closing, and the being sighed almost tiredly, "For the love of the Grimm, you Humans… So caught up in appearances. A wonder your primary conflict is with people having different _ears_, or some other such nonsense."

"F-Faunus." She gasped, pointing a finger at the tall being when its brows rose at the name, "You mean the… The problems with the Faunus. Am I right?"

"Yes, the Demihumans. Er, Faunus I suppose, as you call them now. No matter to me, I suppose, you murder each other regardless of paltry naming conventions. Eh?" The creature laughed then, a normal, barking laugh laced with hatred and derision. Shaking its great, horned head the being turned its eyes on her and asked, "Now, are you quite done reacting to me? I've calmed as much of it as I could, but I feel the need to ask."

"You've… Calmed it?"

"Yes, I created those emotions, after all. Fear, rage, lust, pain, all to drive you forward to survive even at the cost of destroying those before you." The being answered, clicking its ethereal tongue in sudden realization and then snorting, "Ah, you don't recognize me. Of course not, why would you? My _brother_, now, he would probably be recognizable. By my illustrious, repudiated, repulsed self? No, never."

"I don't-"

"Understand? No, I would wager you don't. Not yet, I'll remedy that affliction of ignorance you are suffering under momentarily, though." The being snorted at the face she made at the remarks, but neither of them commented on it. Instead it made an outlandish, overly and flamboyantly flourished bow and introduced itself in a voice of faux-humility and servility, "I am the Brother of Darkness, Grimm progenitor, derivation source of all the more _fun_ elements of, well, _your race_, and co-creator of your species. You may call me God, if you wish it."

"Y-You're a god?!" She spluttered, managing to half-rise, mouth gaping, at the being as it straightened and nodded. Unsure of what to do at the proclamation, but _knowing_ the truth she'd heard and terrified, she threw herself to the ground, prostrate and afraid. Face pressed to the ground she couldn't discern, she pleaded, "I-I'm so sorry, I didn't- I didn't know. I-I could never have reacted like I did if I had, I swear!"

"Ah, _much_ better! But get up, you petty little creature, I didn't pluck your soul from that _literally_ blasted tower to grovel at my feet. No, I am above such pettiness, even if my wretched brother is not." She looked up - _dared_ to look up, that was - and met the deific creature's gaze with a confused one of her own. Finally it tutted and gestured with a finger for her to stand, a command she obeyed dutifully. In a soft tone, like he was afraid to frighten the woman standing before him, the deity explained, "You, my dear, must know something. You are dead."

All the breath left her lungs in a sudden exhale of shock, the noise sputtering past her lips indignantly in a, "Whumpfl?"

"You Humans tend to die when your chest is, well…" The creature paused and slid a finger down along the center of his chest, above his sternum, and Pyrrha looked at hers in confusion.

A large, ragged and fleshy hole sat in the center of her chest, the width of her little finger, and in it she could see blood, muscle and broken bone. Around it was a purple bruise, the blood vessels under her skin burts and the muscle understandably abused by the wound's suffrage. None of which she could _feel_, somehow, though a glance to the God's smirking visage told her why that was. And additionally, that she should be _very_ grateful for it, which she knew she couldn't convey properly in her state of disbelief and shock. Looking back to the wound, her fingers trailed up, between her breasts and pulled them away so she could see it better.

"T-The arrow. I… I got shot, fighting at Beacon. _Protecting_ Beacon, but..." Her eyes returned to the self-proclaimed God's face and she swallowed anxiously, hands falling from her leather armor as she remembered what he'd said. "I died. You said I died, and… I have the wound for it, so I suppose I am dead. Aren't I?"

"Oh yes, very, _very_ dead indeed." The being shrugged at the proclamation even as Pyrrha's stomach bottomed out and she recoiled, letting out a shaky breath and hugging herself. Seeing this, the being actually seemed… Unsure, for a moment, and added, "If it matters, what you did saved a lot of lives. Petty, wasteful, doomed little lives, true, but lives nonetheless."

"I did?" The deity simply nodded, clearly out of his element dealing directly with people. A braver, less inescapably _dead_, Nikos whose soul didn't likely sit in the being's hands _might_ have asked why that was if he was a creator of the species. Happy at the news, the Mistralian champion let out a shaky breath and smiled, murmuring, "Then Jaune is well, and all is not lost, at least."

"Beacon was, yes, but not everything you would probably care about. Give me a moment…" The being turned aside, eyes flickering and fingers at his side curling, uncurling and flicking, as though it was reading something. Or flipping through something, like she would on a Scroll. Finally, the god turned its gaze on her and explained, sounding bored all the while, "The robot girl is _very_ dead, as you know. And many others died as well, throughout the little Kingdom and your academy both."

"I see." She frowned, taking a breath and asking, "And my team? M-My friends?"

"Alive, to the last, though… Scattered, somewhat, and broken in various ways." Pyrrha wanted to ask more, but didn't. Afraid of angering the already bored god so graciously answering her questions, when she _knew _the being was already tired of the questions. "I am, but I will answer regardless. The blonde lost her arm, and the Faunus girl,, Balaclava, Batavia, no... Belladonna? Whatever. She fled for guilt and fear. The rest were scattered into hospitals and, even now, are filtering back together to whatever end they desire."

"Yang was dismembered?!" She shouted, flinching after a moment and murmuring an, "I-I'm sorry. I was just… Shocked."

"Indeed she was, and indeed you were." The being rumbled, sounding demeaningly amused as it did. Head cocked to the side for a moment to regard her, the giant eventually just shrugged. In a lighter, airier, and somehow ever more sinister sounding voice, the being went on, "You see, none of this is the reason you, well, yet _exist_ frankly. My brother and I made an agreement to leave this world bereft of our influence and magic, yet I'm sure _you_, of all people, are aware magic yet exists."

"The Maidens."

"Ah, you are a clever one, aren't you?" She scowled slightly, before she could catch it and school her expression into something more flat and even, but the god noticed. Chuckling, he nodded his great, violet, horned head and went on, "Yes, child, you are right. The Maidens. A result of my deceitful, oh so beloved brother's meddlings. We agreed to leave the world you so aptly name as Remnant behind, long ago. I kept that word and, only recently, found out that _he_ did not."

"The God of Light, yes?" She tried, the God of Darkness nodding his head pleasedly at her guess. "He lies, but _you_ are supposed to be the evil one… Are you not?"

"Just because I am destruction does not make me _evil_." The god shrugged, "Or are you evil when you destroy those creatures of mine you call Grimm? Or when soldiers destroy other soldiers? Are _they_ evil? How about those Hunters, as you call them, who go out and destroy entire _tribes_ of nomadic raiders? Even now, these things all happen quite often. Which are evil, then, hm?"

"I don't-"

"I'm sure you don't, and it doesn't matter. I did not pluck your soul from the world at large to debate morality." She nodded understandingly, and the god spread his arms, like he was presenting a present to her. "Congratulations, young little Huntress! You're being granted a second chance to live out your life, for my own amusement."

"I-I am?" A second chance to live? To see Jaune? To fight and protect the people she cared about? It was almost too good to be true, and for a moment, she couldn't fight the smile that stretched across her face. Head shaking slightly in disbelief, she murmured, "Thank you, God. I… Just thank you, so much. I'm undeserving."

"Quite right, young Pyrrha Nikos." The being agreed, lacking _any_ sort of humility, even if according to the deity it held _honesty_ in spades. One virtue was more than enough for a literal god, perhaps, she supposed. Smiling brightly, it added, "And you are to be the first person from your puny, experimental little world to leave the planet and journey to another _galaxy_! With your mind and powers intact, no less, and the blessings of a god of destruction."

"I… What?" Leave the planet? Another galaxy? Confused, she asked, "So I am… _Not_ to return to Remnant?"

"Oh, no, of course not. I promised not to interfere in that world after we left and, unlike my brother, I do not lie. I keep my word, unless I'm _tricked_ into giving it." He snarled that last bit, harsh enough and sudden enough to make the diminutive by comparison woman swallow and step back anxiously. After a moment the great being relaxed and sighed, going on, "No, you died on that world when that witch of a woman shot you. Ah, speaking of…"

The god snapped his fingers and she hissed in pain, blood flowing fresh from the wound and breath fleeing her as she sank to her knees. A hand clutched to her breast, desperately clawing at the fire between her bosom and her heart, and then as suddenly as it came… It went. The blood ceased flowing, bubbled away into the air, and steam emanated from the center of her bust. Looking at it, she saw the wound writhe without feeling, deadened by the god's magic and wriggling with it. After a moment the skin knit itself together and her breathing evened out and eased, the ache ebbing away as she stared at immaculate, flawless skin.

"Sorry about that." The god intoned cheerily, smiling when she looked up at him, "I wanted to heal it, and _my_ healing abilities need time to flow. Which meant your wound had to be allowed to, well… you saw, and I wager you got the gist."

"I-I do, yes." Time progressing meant her wound would hurt and, in truth, try and kill her. He'd healed her, though, as readily as he'd relieved her body's aches and pains from the Vytal Festival and the battle around Beacon before her… Expiration.

"Anyways, as I was saying, I won't be sending you there. I keep my word." Her disappointment must have shown, for the god tutted and rushed to add, haughty and tight but not losing his demeaning, sickening edge all the while, "Now, now, I would think saving lives and exploring a galaxy would be to your tastes. And besides, you're dead! Beggars can't be choosers. Er, especially the _dead_ ones."

"I see." It was a air point she supposed. "And I suppose my choices are rather plainly 'Do as I say or I will kill you'?"

"Eh, I would phrase it more as _let you die_, but…" The god shrugged uncaringly and Pyrrha sighed, avoiding its gaze before her nerves rattled under them again. Even looking at it seemed to rattle something deep in the back of her mind, but looking aside, at the expanse of ruddy colors and dim light, didn't. "In any event, it's a win on all sides! I get to watch you thrash your way through a strange new land, and you get to… Exist! Win win, I say."

"I have a condition." She said as sternly as she could, managing a _bit_ more than a murmur. Louder, she said, "If I do what you want, you have to give me something in exchange too. Beyond my living, as that is part and parcel of your… Entertainment, I mean."

"You're not exactly in a position to negotiate from power, little girl." The god sneered, the woman grimacing but not deigning to respond. After a moment the deity sighed and pinched the bridge of its nose with the fingers of one hand, the other waving in the air between them dismissively. "Oh… Whatever. Finding another suitable candidate for my viewership would take far too long. What do you want?"

"My weapons and armor, repaired and enchanted with your power. As well as your watching my friends, and offering them whatever little help you can." She said the words quickly and flatly, meeting the god's perplexed and amused gaze only after she'd finished.

The quaking in her knees and the beating of her heart wouldn't matter now, after all.

"Oh… Fine, but be warned now and plainly that I can _not_ intervene much on that planet. I will not be empowering anyone, or turning aside blades, or some such other nonsense like that." She nodded understandingly, satisfied with just having a god watching over her friends, and relaxed. With little showmanship for the matter the god snapped the fingers of each hand, her sword and shield appearing as good as new in the air before her, clattering along the ground. "The weapon has changed to suit where you go. Dust doesn't exist there, and so a Dust rifle would be of little use. This functions the same, but the ammunition works along local styles. Ammo block, a rare element, you'll need it all explained to you there. Don't fret though, I'm… Making arrangements to make _that_ easy enough."

"I don't understand-"

"You will once you speak to the mechanical thing. Do try not to let it kill you though, hm? Wasted effort if you do, and no _third_ chances." She nodded and the god held its hand out towards her, a little ball of purple fire appearing in its palm. Grinning, the god warned, "This will… Sting a bit. Close your eyes."

She did as she was bade, and hissed as her skin felt as though it had been lit aflame. A moment later it was gone and she fell a few feet, knees giving out in her wide-eyed surprise as she collapsed in a forest clearing, sprawled in the grass. A moment later, her weapons appeared to either side, clattering to the ground to either side of her where she lay. Groaning, the woman rolled onto her hands and knees for a second time and sat up, looking around until she felt something prod the back of her skull.

Turning, she blinked in surprise, looking up the barrel of a rifle at some kind of machine. It held the weapon in one hand, the other hanging limp and a _massive_ hunk missing from its torso, white oil or blood leaking from everywhere.

Blinking, sat on the grass in a strange forest and shell-shocked from everything that had so quickly washed over her, she could only ask, "You're hurt. Do you need help?"

The things strange head lifted back, tilted to the side, and multiple little flats along its black head flanged and twitched in what she guessed was a reaction. Finally, it pointed out quietly, "You fell from the sky, Human Woman. We came from the direction of the nearest Human settlement on this planet, and none dressed as you do."

Looking up, there were no trees above where she'd fallen from, so she nodded numbly and murmured, "Yeah." After a moment she added, "I'm Pyrrha Nikos, by the way."

"We are Geth." The machine intoned in its synthetic, warbling voice. After a moment it asked, "Are you aware of us?"

"You are right in front of me, so… I don't understand the question." Hesitantly, and collecting herself, she rose and glanced at the weapon pointed at her face. The God of Darkness had mentioned her mind _and_ powers would be intact so…

Using her Semblance, she recalled her discarded weapons, the two things slipping soundlessly through the air and resting on her back where they were always left. The machine watched soundlessly, eye flaps - she had no other reference name for them, so there it was - twitching in reaction. She didn't know why, but its flashlight-esque face twitched this way and that, looking at her and then the weapons, and then it lowered the rifle slightly.

"You are a strange Human, Nikos, Pyrrha." It started, the woman's brows raising at the statement coming from _two thirds_ of a robot pointing a gun at her chest now. A realization that had her hands curling into anxious fists and breathing speeding at her remembrance of the _last_ time that had happened. "Your adrenal response is heightening and you seem frightened. Moreso than previous. We would like to know why."

"You would scarcely believe me." She murmured, gently reaching up and poking the barrel of the weapon _back up_, towards her face rather than her chest. A surprisingly, ridiculously, more comfortable place for it to be. "Such a story told to me even a week prior would have seen my politely recusing myself from one whom I called a liar."

"We would detect the adrenal response and heart palpitations, as well as minor reactions in your face and voice, were you to lie." Beyond Geth, in the far distance, she could hear sounds. Gunshots, for one, cracking out at least a few hundred yards away at something. The machine didn't turn towards them but, after a moment, lowered its rifle and turned, bobbing its head the way she supposed it had come. "There are other Humans from this settlement hunting me and heading this way. If you are from here-"

"I am not, that is to say the last on the matter." She cut him, it, off. In the back of her head, she remembered the God of Darkness' words about how doomed she'd be without who he sent her to. And she was _not_ in the mood to die again, particularly to what sounded like angry hunters after her new acquaintance. Flicking her arms to either side, she stepped past the damaged machine she held her shield and sword loose at her hands and asked, "Do we need to fight? I can disarm and wound them for our escape."

"You have no reason to help us."

"You didn't _shoot me_ when you had the chance." She nodded her head towards the woods, "Even though they would do so to you, and you assumed I belonged here. You only stopped because I was in your path, I suspect. Why?"

"We did not wish to harm you." The answer was quiet and simple, and all the Mistralian needed to tighten the grip on her sword and meet its gaze flatly. "You do not need to risk yourself for us."

"I'm a Huntress." She said quietly, gently even. A title she considered lofty, but one a _literal_ God had once referred to her as, and she would not dare deign to question him. Returning her gaze to the forest, she explained, "We protect the weak, the innocent, and the like. You are wounded - weak - and innocent of any harm I am aware of. Unless you murdered one of them?"

"We did not." The machine's voice was the same, but even so as it turned to her she felt a hint of… Defensiveness. "We were spotted and fled, and were shot as we did so. But we have not harmed anyone here, and do not intend to unless forced."

"Then you deserve protection from people simply killing you for some nonsense." She shrugged, rolling her shoulders to limber up. Quieter, firmer, she asked, "Are we fighting or running? I don't know where we are, but-"

"Running. We can not fight without inflicting harm, and fleeing is possible. Undue harm is ill-advised and not desired." The machine turned without anything further and, after an odd, almost anxious moment to check she had as well, took off into the forest. In spite of the wounds it sported, the machine's pace was quick, rifle on its back and one arm holding the other to minimize more damage coming. In spite of _that_, it spoke, "My ship is nearby. We can escape in it with time to seal pressurization seals before we leave the atmosphere."

"A-Alright." She grunted, leaping over a log and rolling as she hit the dirt, coming up just behind the machine and falling in there. Ahead of them, a tree's bark splintered violently and Geth steered to the left, raising both arms over its head in surprise.

Instinctively, she grabbed ahold of the machine's good shoulder to keep it in front of her and her body between them and the shooters, raising her shield to better protect its head and ordering, "Lead the way, Geth. I will cover the rear."

"We detect no kinetic barriers. If you are shot-" As if the words were prophetic, she cried out and slammed against the machine as a rapid staccato of rounds cracked through the air. One passe to their left and into the dirt in a little puff while another threw hunks of bark off a tree they passed by and ducked behind to use as cover while they ran. She kept running so Geth never stopped, instead calling back, "Are you wounded, Nikos, Pyrrha?"

"No, my Aura stopped it." Even though it had still smarted when the round struck her shoulder, she was indeed unharmed.

"We do not understand what-"

"When I tell you my story, count my immunity to _bullets_ as evidence." She ordered simply as they broke into another clearing. Ahead of them, the top shimmering gently, a long, blue craft. Like a long beetle, but lacking any legs or horns and instead simply resting on the ground, with a ramp lowered at the back. Sensing movement, she turned and her shield snapped up as a heavier shot slammed into it and staggered her back. "Are we getting in that thing?"

"Yes." She turned at the words and caught a flash of something, between the spaced out trees and across the relatively barren, sparsely shrubbed forest.

A flash before of armor, she realized a moment before a round caught her sword-side shoulder and threw her back. The woman cried out in as much surprise as pain but coming up quickly and keeping her body turned to present the smallest silhouette possible with her shield covering as much of herself as possible. Another small staccato set of rounds struck her, two scoring across her shield and two more whistling past her lithe form, and she turned, fleeing for the 'ship' Geth had mentioned.

"Are you wounded, Nikos?" It asked as she climbed aboard, the ramp closing behind her as she approached the back of the chair set into the front of the ship like it had been waiting for her alone. She grunted a simple 'no' and shook her head, and it turned towards the front of the ship, adding, "We advise you sit down. Geth craft are not suited for organic occupants."

That was very evidently true, the inside of the ship cramped and low. The pilot seat was the only one, with a scant five feet to the back ramp and only four from floor to ceiling. To either side, pipes, terminals and flat work tables recessed into the wall, and the right sported a tall, several inch deep recess she _guessed_ was where Geth could rest to recover or recharge. On the ceiling, electrical work spidered around as much as they did below the gratings of the floor. She elected to sit at the back, leaned against the ramp that had closed behind them as the craft lifted into the air and listed sharply back, the latter fact alone making her _very_ happy to have sat at the back. Overhead and throughout the ship, a strange hissing sounded that she didn't understand, and didn't question.

After several minutes, the machine turned and called back to her, "We have escaped the planet. My ship is cloaked, and will not be tracked. We are safe."

"I see." She didn't rise from the floor, though, nor question what 'escaped the planet' meant. Instead, she called out in as polite a voice as she could manage, "Geth, I'm exhausted. Would you mind if I rested for a time?"

"We do not. And we wish you a good rest, though the compartment of this vessel is unsuited for such." The machine's seat was recessed down and into the floor but it lifted slightly and turned to let it stand and step into the recess by the chair. Small arms began quickly and quietly cauterising the damaged cabling as it continued, "I a setting a route for another nearby settled world where I will procure credits for us to purchase you food. From there we will determine our next course. Is this agreeable?"

"Hm." She nodded, letting her eyes close. The machine didn't speak again and, within moments, she fell into a deep rest as exhaustion claimed her.

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	2. Chapter 2

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_**Official Supporters:**_

_**Grand Priestess, Luna Haile -**_

_**High Priest, Alvelvnor**_

_**Priest, The Impossible Muffin **_

_**Priest, Xager the Chaos King**_

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_**Acolyte, Stonecold**_

_**Acolyte, Espacole**_

_**Initiate, Greg Gibson**_

_**If you want to be on the Supporter list, PM one of us for details or join our discord. Server ,.for details. Hope you enjoy reading my stories, and remember to post a Review/Comment to let me know what you liked and didn't.**_

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_**If I could trick FF into thinking this is not a link here it is (delete the spaces and turn):**_

_**D iscord . gg (slash) kfhkfUb**_

_**Betas for this story so far :**_

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_**Supporter Story for : Espa Cole**_

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_**I hope you all enjoy the chapter update and the proper start of the Rannoch Arc, and hope you drop a Review and let me know what you think. But this isn't for that. I wanted to offer a special congratulations to a friend of mine named Bill the Something, who recently became an uncle.**_

_**And I wanted to give him a special congratulations on chapters through the week.**_

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"Nikos, Pyrrha." A hand, cold and inhuman, with fingers that were too few and larger than any normal man's.

"What…?" She blinked her eyes open and grimaced at the bright light as the hand receded, giving her space and peace to wake up she presumed. "What is it, Geth?"

"We wished to speak, but you were asleep." She groaned but nodded and, with a sigh, started to stretch and wake up properly. While the woman sat up in spite of her stiff, aching limbs the synthetic voice explained in its seemingly ever present, near monotone, "You have been asleep for ten hours, Nikos, Pyrrha. A normal Human woman only requires approximately nine hours of sleep unless they are ill. Are you ill, Nikos, Pyrrha?"

"No, I'm… Just tired, I suppose." Not to mention every single _inch_ of her was cold, clammy and ached. "Gods, this is why you don't sleep in armor…"

Whether that ache was the chilly interior of the ship or _actually was_ having slept in her armor, or perhaps a bit of both mixed with what happened before she'd met her automaton friend, she couldn't have guessed. Sighing tiredly, she stood on aching legs and sent her Aura coursing through her to relieve the pains and aches, groaning as it worked through her and leaning with an arm outstretched to reach one of the walls and prop herself up. Groaning, she stretched her muscles taut, the machine waiting patiently while she did, a few feet away with its flashlight like head on her.

"Do you, um…" She let her hands fall at her side and grimace, unsure of how to phrase what she wanted to say without being rude. Finally she shrugged, decided dying gave her _some_ right to be abrupt, and simply asked, "Why are you staring at me like that, Geth?"

"We are waiting for you to be fully awake so that we may speak." The machine warbled simply in its synthetic, almost trembling voice.

"I… See." It didn't say anything, the flanges around its head twitching a few ties at her words, and she sighed as she realized it was waiting for _permission_ to speak, and it didn't respond to her more subtle prompting. Again, she tried to prompt him, or it, to speak, "I suppose you have some questions. A fair thing."

Again, its flanges flicked and twitched expressively, but it didn't speak. Smiling politely in spite of the mild awkwardness, she leaned against the back of the ship, grimacing as her anxiety spiked at the ludicrous fear of what lay beyond it. On Remnant, falling from a Bullhead merely meant acrobatics and Aura use, but in space…?

"Well then…" She swallowed unsurely and turned her attention on the machine to ignore the spike of fear, "I am well awake, Geth, I assure you. Ask whatever you like, I'll answer to the best of my abilities, I promise."

"You do not fear us." It observed, the Mistralian woman's brows furrowing in confusion over if that was a _question_ or a _statement_. After a moment of her silence, blinking confusedly and mouth half open to answer, the machine added, "You do not fear us, and you did not recognize what we are when we encountered you. Given the variable we were on Eden Prime, this is an oddity we do not understand."

"Oh, I see, you… You want to know who I am, then? Where I came from?" The machine's nod was small, and came a couple seconds later than she had expected it. Whether that was because it had needed to consider the question or only registered a _need_ to nod in answer after he wasn't sure. "I-I see. Well, the… Answers may be difficult to believe, but I'm not from a planet that knows of your… I'm so sorry, is species the word or-or race, or…?"

"According to Alliance dictionaries and our understanding of the English language, both words are functionally applicable in this setting." The machine's flanges twitched again after a second and, inscrutable without so much as a _face_ or any actual body language to emote with beyond said metal flaps.

"I'm sorry, but what's… English?" The word sounded strange to her and, this time, Geth did react. Its head tilted to one side curiously and it slid the majority of its weight to its unarmored side, as though regarding her. Suddenly anxious under that sudden scrutiny she half-murmured, "I… I am sorry if what I said was strange, but… But I honestly do not recognize the name."

"Query, Nikos." The machine preambled suddenly, Pyrrha nodding for it to speak when, again, it seemed to wait for her consent. "What is the name of the language you are speaking?"

"I'm… Speaking Valean Common, though I confess my grasp of the knowledge is not as grand as one might prefer." Her teachers had certainly made that clear, before her track as a tournament champion had begun in true earnest. The machine stilled, staring over her shoulder at the wall as best she could tell. After a few moments of the quiet she went on, unsure of what to say and hating the awkward feeling silence, "I doubt you would really know the name, Geth. It's from a planet you-"

"The word 'Valean' has zero applicable language matches in the Extranet's Human categories. We have searched four hundred and eighty two online language sites based around Human studies and the Alliance's history." The machine reported, interrupting her, its flourescent 'face' snapping around to her. "Valean as phrased indicates it is a place or region, likely named 'Vale' or 'Valea' based on our understanding of the English - Valean Common - language. Is this correct?"

"Yes." She nodded, crossing her arms under her lightly armored bust and relaxing as much as she could against the presumably armored hull of the ship she was in. After a half-second she added, rushed and a clear after-thought, "And it's… Vale. Not Valea, just… Just Vale. The Kingdom of Vale, point of fact."

"Where is it?" The machine prodded, "Our searches are bringing out no results. Even when amended to remove 'Valea' and add 'Kingdom'."

"On the planet Remnant, which… Which you won't find either, Geth, it's not a world you would know." She sighed and reached up, running her fingers through her messy, knotted hair and grimacing at the realization of her disastrous state. Armor scuffed and scratched where it hadn't been destroyed and, subsequently, repaired, hair matted and knotted in places with sweat, she looked to have crawled off a battlefield. "Not a bad comparison, actually…"

"What do you mean?"

"Ah, n-nothing, Geth. Merely… Thinking aloud." She waved him off, sliding down the slope of the hull and letting her head roll back to rest against it, eyes closed so she could enjoy the coolness. "I did tell you I would tell you my story, did I not? Back on… Eden Prime, was it?"

"Affirmative." She took the affirmation as an answer to _both_ her questions and nodded.

"Well, I've quite a long story for you, then." And she certainly hoped that the machine would believe her. She didn't fancy seeing what would happen if it decided she was lying. Not out in space, where Oum knew what would happen to her if the machine decided to _evict_ her. Opening her eyes and meeting its light, she began, "My planet is called, as I said previously, Remnant. On it, there are creatures known as the Creatures of Grimm…"

The explanation would take time but, she realized shortly into it, the machine wouldn't interrupt her. It simply stood, listening to her as she told it everything she could remember in detail enough to and thought relevant enough for her long, frankly tall, tale. As she went, she grew more confident, more comfortable, with her telling and went on faster and with a clearer voice. Not that, she was sure, the machine cared about _any _of it beyond the base facts she was handing it to process. Charisma and story craft didn't matter to a synthetic mind that had no care for the frills she added around the facts of her world, her life, and her death. The last of which, finally, prompted a _reaction_ from Geth.

"You were terminated?" It asked, eye spinning slightly in its socket and flanging headplates expanded around its head in what she decided to be a shocked face. Throat dry and, distantly, stomach starting to ache she nodded, and the machine's flanking headplates twitched again. "Impossible. Humans can not be terminated and continue to exist afterwards without drastic cybernetic reconstruction. We detect none inside you."

"I also stopped a bullet, or several, and you said you didn't detect any…" Her lips pursed in confusion for a moment as she tried and failed to remember the name of the foreign element, "Of that-that element?"

"Element Zero. An element commonly used in biotics and shielding units of all sizes, as well as communication and armor technology." Its head twitched again and it added, "Our scans currently only show a micro-amount within your weapon. A sensor failure is therefore not likely to be why we do not detect any elsewhere on you."

"That, yes. Thank you, Geth." She nodded, wrapping her arms firmly around her legs and resting her chin on her knees between them, behind the armored pauldrons where the softer leather underpinnings were. "And as you said, only my sword has any of it. Meaning that my ability to protect myself is _not_ due to it, whereas Aura can shield a well enough trained and aware human being from harm."

"Further, Auras can enable _Semblances_, as I told you before." Raising her shield as _it_ had no Element Zero and would serve as the best proof, she pitched it across the short interior room. Then, fingers splayed and Aura flexing under her will, she recalled the shield and it soared right back through the air to her, landing on her arm and staying seemingly on its own accord. "My Semblance is named Polarity, and allows me to move any mental by touching it, suffusing my Aura into it. Scan away if you like."

"We have been doing so for several minutes. Your… Display consisted of no Element Zero based technology that we can detect." After a moment, its flanging headplates clicked open and then closed. "Very well. We acknowledge your claims as... Acceptable, regarding Semblances and Aura. How did you come to be alive after termination?"

"A… God revived me." The machine's head tilted to the side and Pyrrha sighed, nodding understandingly, "Yes, I know, it sounds… Insane to say. But I died, and the God of Darkness, Father of the Grimm, met with me and explained that he… Wanted me to amuse him."

"Gods exist?"

"Apparently, yes, though they do little in the world." The Dark Brother had refused, even, to help her team in exchange for her 'entertaining' him as he demanded. As much to that fact as to the machine's gaze, she shrugged unsurely, "I can't prove his existence to you, however. All he did was reforge my weapons and armor as needed, and drop me in your path on Eden Prime."

"It is illogical, but such would explain your sudden appearance. And falling from the sky." The machine whirred in thought, likely running through everything she'd said so far in the few seconds of quiet it took to do so. Finally, with muted clicks of its head emoting as it often did, the machine answered, "You have proven your claims of Aura and Semblance, we have observed you being shot and unphased by it, and we have learned of the organic concept of… Trust. Is this a moment where organics would… Offer trust?"

"Yes." Or, she would hope so, any way. She'd trusted Ozpin when he told her about Magic, for one fact, and so expecting others to trust the leap here didn't seem _too_ outlandish. Even if they were _all_ very much outlandish, insane claims. "I'm not asking you to believe in the Dark Brother, or anything, but… I am not lying about it any more than what you yourself say as proven to you."

"Acknowledged. We will offer our trust." The damaged machine turned without another word, moving to its seat at the front of the ship and taking it before speaking again. "We are headed to the Omega System to meet with a trader that the Geth have paid for supplies. They can take you elsewhere if you do not wish to stay with us."

The idea of going with a stranger in a strange land, or _galaxy_ she supposed as 'land' had connotations that weren't applicable here, did not appeal to her very much. For relatively obvious reasons, really. And even if Geth was still a _relative_ stranger, the machine seemed oddly… Innocent. Naive, almost, but not in the sense that it didn't know any better. Rather, it seemed new to trust, and people, in general. And something told her that trusting Geth now was the better option, even as fresh as the memories of the Atlesian machines was.

"Instinct or the God's influence…?" She murmured unsurely, grimacing at the total lack of surety she managed. She had no way of knowing, really, so she pushed the thought aside and raised her voice for the waiting machine to hear, "Should you be willing, Geth, I would… Prefer to stay with you. This galaxy is new to me, and I would rather be with someone I trust."

"You trust us?"

"You trusted _me_." She nodded, "In humans, organics I suppose as you said it, trust goes both ways. You trusted me even when my claims were _somewhat_ irrational, and now I would do the same."

"...Acknowledged." The machine finally said, almost a full minute later and sounding oddly… Hopeful, if the machine's synthesized tones could even _sound_ truly hopeful in any way that wasn't her own perceptions. "We will reach the Omega System in two hours, thirty one minutes and seventeen seconds. We apologize, but Geth do not need food or water, and so we have none."

"It's fine. You… Said we were going to get supplied, so I suppose that would be included?" Or she hoped, at least, since she kind of _needed_ food and water to survive. "Also, I will… Need sleeping materials, and perhaps a change of clothes, and-"

"We are currently communicating with Geth to arrange supplies in whatever way is the most efficient." It interrupted, now managing to sound oddly exasperated. After a moment, it explained, "The only viable conclusion we have reached is to request a jannitory liquid receptacle at the supply point, and head for the Perseus Veil. A ship will be awaiting us with the needed facilities to house you."

"You are… Going to give me a _toilet bucket_ to use?" She asked, the machine nodding slightly in an affirmative, apparently either uncaring for the discomfort of it or not understanding it enough to respond. Grimacing at the prospect, she sighed and did her best to resign herself to it. It was better than whatever ill fortune could possibly befall her in a galaxy she knew nothing about, she supposed. "How, er, how long will I be relegated to _that_?"

"One week." The machine answered quickly, "The specialized ship will complete production in two point four five standard Sols," the Mistralian assumed from context that meant _days_, "and we will arrive three point two nine days afterwards. Approximately one standard week."

"I see…"

"We… Apologize for the discomfort." So Geth _did_ understand it, at least somewhat, then. "If this changes your mind we would take no offense and will instead-"

"It's… Fine." Not even _remotely_, but it would have to be. And she was a Huntress, for Oum's sake, she could deal with such a state for a few days surely. "I will survive, I assure you. There are, I am entirely sure, things out there I would _not_ survive in any way, form or fashion. So I shall have to find a way to survive the sorrows of lacking a lavatory."

"We are not aware Humans require a lavatory to survive…"

"That… That was a joke, Geth." She sighed, chuckling under her breath when, a moment later, the machine gave a clipped 'Acknowledged' and went quiet. Finally, to break that, she asked, "I told you of my people, Geth. I would be very interested in hearing about you, or your own for that matter. And besides, there is little to do else aside from learn something about my traveling companion. Hm?"

"Very well." The machine answered, turning to look at her for a moment as though to gauge something she wasn't aware of. After a second it turned back to its console and began to speak. "We will start with the creation of the Geth species, as servitors to the Creator race, if you are so inclined."

"Yes, please. I look forward to learning." She enjoyed stories, and history as well, so she adjusted herself where she sat and began removing her heavier armor for comfort while the machine started to speak.

_**(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

The contact had been a Salarian, an amphibian race that was built lithely and stood a bit shorter than herself, who had eagerly accepted the payment for their supply request, but very much avoided talking to either of them about anything other than payment. A few times, she saw it - she was unsure of how to discern its gender gender and didn't ask - watching her like it wanted to say something. The alien never did, though

Sections of Geth's damaged armor plating around his legs, long since removed since they had left Eden Prime, along with a few Geth thermal cells and a segment of Geth wiring and a single ammunition block from Rannoch were handed over. In exchange the Salarian had allowed her and her machine to fill their need for ship fuel, which Geth's Geth ship, which was an ever frustrating way or referring to things, had been specially built to use for its mission. Then he'd offloaded three crates of military rations and water, that were lined up along the back of the craft and covered with a thin blanket for her to sleep in, and the alien was away. Without waiting for so much as a 'thank you', either.

Not to mention, of course, the yellow janitor's bucket at the foot of the 'bed' that she tried to ignore, though it was blessedly sealable so that none of the _contents_ could bother her.

"You need a name." She finally observed, days later, dressed in armor that was getting to be uncomfortable now from now being cleaned and _more_ than tired in a way she couldn't explain, laid on her back on her makeshift bed with her hands folded on her chest. The machine's metal flanges twitched in curiosity and she explained, "You said that your mission was to understand and learn to relate to organics, if possible."

"My mission is to gather knowledge on organic habits to engender understanding, as well as to watch against potential punitive assaults." Geth corrected calmly as it flew their shup, the young Mistralian humming her acknowledgement to the information. "Is there a reason you desire a specific designation for this unit?"

"For one, now I know your _species_ is Geth too, that being your name also is kind of… Strange." Five days had passed by now, and she had more than learned that it wouldn't take offense at forward statements. In fact, as it had explained, it _preferred_ them since it didn't understand things like humor properly yet, though it was 'studying Extranet materials' on the matter. "Besides that, Geth units having names would help people empathize with them. Empathy begets understanding, among people."

"A name would further the chances of peace and cooperation between Geth and organics?" And thus Geth survival, she knew without asking. When the machine looked at her, she nodded, and the machine turned back around. "Searching for potentially applicable names and forwarding the information you have suggested to the Geth collective. Do you have suggestions?"

"Try for religiously thematic ones." She offered, unsure of what else _to_ offer. "At the least where I came from, names tied to traditions were respectable and common both. My name, for one, is a reference to a mythical general Pyrrhus, who fought against the bestial Grimm and won withering victories."

"And you believe this could assist the Geth in organic relations?"

"It could help, yes, and certainly couldn't _hurt_ if nothing else." She shrugged, eyes closing while she relaxed boredly, completely starved for options on how to remedy that particular problem. "You asked for direction, after all, and at the _least_ it's that. I'm sorry, but I can't think of anything else."

"We are Legion, for we are many." The machine finally intoned, turning to look at her again even though she knew it didn't need to. It did it for her entirely, knowing it made her marginally more comfortable to _face her_ while they talked than to watch her using the small ship's interior sensors. "Christian Bible, book of Revelations. The reverence is to a spiritual being made up as a collective of other beings. The parallel is suiting, and the name seems simple enough for functional use. Nikos?"

"It works well enough, yes." It was simple, as the machine said, easily remembered, and made sense given what Geth, _Legion_, was now.

An amalgam of hundreds of thousands of individual entities reaching consensus about everything from firing a gun to, she knew now, bringing her with them all. To a further extent, she knew, the entire Geth _species_ had agreed to help her get acclimated to this new galaxy. Even if they ostensibly benefited from it as well, and had made clear they did, she still felt humbled and honored to have an entire _species_ deciding to help her. Whether, to them, it was a small investment or not didn't matter.

They were still _doing it_.

"Then we accept this designation." The machine spoke, turning to look at her once again, offering her a small nod of its fluorescent head. It's flaps twitching oddly and voice, colored by either its own or her perceptions, tinged by satisfaction, the machine reintroduced itself by its new name. "We are Legion, a terminal of the Geth. We will use this designation in future requiring circumstances."

The two fell into a comfortable silence after that, for a time. Before she began to get bored again, at least, sitting up on her bed and calling pieces of her armor to her to clean with a rag habitually. It didn't take long, of course, as she had neither worn it or gone into battle with it yet, so it _started_ clean. So her excuse for busying herself quickly vanished, the armor returning into its ordered heap at the head of her bed. She wanted to work on her weapon, too, if only for something to _do_, but with the technology in it now she was unsure about whether that would be a wise idea. And destroying her weapon for ignorance was not something she was too interested in doing.

With a sigh, she unlaced her bodice and, naked from the waist up now beside her undershirt, bent over it with the rag and a bottle of water, setting to scrubbing where she could to at least _try_ and help its sorry state. Hours she spent doing that with her various articles, putting them aside and removing the next piece on after another to work, redressing when they were dry to preserve what modesty she could. The machine never spoke of it or looked at her, for reasons she did not know beyond its lack of care for her showing skin and base understanding of human sensibilities. As well, of course, as occasionally opening or closing its work tables along the walls for her to use when its sensors let it note her needing it.

She would murmur a thank you, it would answer its acknowledgement, and they would move on until it happened again.

Her armor and clothing as cleaned as possible given the circumstances at hand, she would move on to exercises. A hundred push-ups, a hundred sit-ups, squats, and whatever else she could do in the confines of the fighters. Running, alas, was impossible, as was specialized weight training, but she got as much breathing exercises as she could by alternating holding her breath for as long as possible and speeding up her breathing, then forcing herself to slow it and her heartrate down again afterward, to drill a better control of it into herself as she'd been trained to.

This continued for the duration of their journey, the hours stretching on to feel impossibly long and her sense of time steadily breaking down. Unavoidable, given the situation, but something to suffer. And suffer it she did, in quiet and resigned dignity, befitting a Huntress she hoped.

Though she _had_ given her life already, so she felt she'd earned the title more than well enough.

"We have arrived at our destination." It finally intoned in the midst of her exercises, the woman controlling herself enough to finish the sit-up before standing and giving the machine a hopeful look. Seeing it, the machine explained quietly, hands flicking out along its consoles rapidly and without pause the entire time. "In one minute, we will conclude docking measures with the light stealth corvette. Then we may embark, load our cargo, and while you settle in I will pilot the fighter to a planet the collective wishes investigated. Please, seal the crates and fold the blankets for efficient unloading."

"You do not wish for me to come with you?" She asked cautiously, sliding on her armor rapidly, as much with her Semblance drawing the plates to her form as with her hands tying the straps in place. Freshly armored, or as freshly as possible right now,she turned to the crates to set to work on cleaning up her mess and added, "I would not mind, you know. If you wished it."

"You require space and time to clean up from our travels thus far, according to my studies on Human physiological and psychological needs." The machine countered simpy, answering her simple question by, as always, laying out its _entire_ thought process for her. She grimaced but nodded, knowing that in spite of being too busy to turn to her Legion would see it, and the machine went on further, "Also, our next destination is Omega Station. We will require your aid to accomplish our goals on Omega Station."

"Why?"

"Geth are hated by organics due to the Heretic's actions with the Old Machine, Sovereign. Omega Station is an organic one." It explained, the names only having the barest hint of context to her. Enough to understand its worry, at the least, and that was all she needed. Seeing her silence, it added in a quiet tone, "Until we make contact with the governing body, Aria T'Loak, our presence will not be safe on the station."

"Which would mean a battle."

"We do not wish to harm any organics." The machine affirmed, answering an unasked question. "And so, we would request that you meet with the governing body for us, and request permission for us to come aboard to trade."

"And if we are refused passage?" She asked, looking over her shoulder at the machine. It hesitated to answer, for a moment, and she called out, "Legion?"

"Then we will infiltrate the station to gather the information we require and depart." It finally answered, turning to look at her, flanged armor clicking and flaying in turn. A show of its anxiety, she was learning to understand. Or something akin to it, at least. "According to reports, we suspect an individual is on the station connected to Shepard, Commander. We wish to speak with them, if possible."

Another in a _species' history_ of being hated and reviled for what they were, instead of who. Shameful, to say the least, and she would not turn away in a moment where she could show them another side of organics.

"If it is what you need, I will gladly repay your kindness with the favor." She just hoped it _didn't_ come to a battle, in the end. With a curt nod, she clicked the lid closed on the crate and finished simply, "I'm all ready and packed, Legion. Dock whenever you wish to, and drop me off. I'll wait on your return, and we shall head to Omega."

"Acknowledged." The machine answered simply, a moment before their ship _shuddered_ gently. Behind her, the ramp lowered, a long, metal tube surrounding her on all sides with a flat bottom and top. At the end, a blue field sparked gently, through which she could see a wide room that looked like the fighter's interior, but doubled in size. "Advisory warning : The docking tube has no gravitational field generation. Please be careful."

"Acknowledged." She called out, pushing the first, emptiest crate into the tube and watching it float freely. Sighing, she used her Semblance to propel it gently over the tube, setting it on the far end of the room she saw. The rest, as they say, was rinse and repeat, which brought a question to mind. "Legion did, er, _you_ build a bathing room on this ship?"

"We did."

"Oh. I see, well… That is wonderful." She blinked, feeling excitement well up inside herself as she set to work faster than before.

A hot shower was calling her name, and a Mistralian _always_ answered when called.

The ship itself was a simple affair, as per what she supposed was typical of Geth standards, and looked much like the beetle-like fighter had, except longer and stockier. A single moderately small storage room at the back, now a third full with her crates, weaponry and armor, and a single hall that divided the forward section of the ship. The majority of which was dedicated to her, with a moderately large bathroom on one side of the hall and her bathroom on the other, the hallway dividing the ship cleanly from front to back.

The bathroom itself was simple but nice enough, with a steel toilet and shower set on the exterior wall and a washing basin set against the other, a water tank _dominating_ the front right corner of the bathing room. Easily twice the size of her tub, likely because, if she had to hazard a guess, Legion itself didn't _need_ any water. So the water systems had only been installed for her. Against the interior wall, between it and the sink, were two small, blue box-like things that she realized a moment later were for her clothes. They were a third the size of _normal_ clothing, of course, but given how little she had to _wear_, and the few towels she had, it made sense to have them be small.

On the other side of the bisecting hall was an equally acceptably sized bedroom, which given her rather unfortunate conditions until now was an extravagance she could appreciate.

The bedroom was an equally simple affair, with a large bed made of synthetic feeling fibers, set onto a metal frame on the ground. By the door was a metal wardrobe, and in the corner an obviously metal set of shelves. Against the far wall, either letting out into space itself or set against the piloting structures she wasn't sure, a set of weights had been neatly stacked for her. Between the dresser and shelves was a wonderfully stocked work table, presumably for her to maintain her equipment and clothing, which was something to thank Legion for later. Gone were the days of a rag, oil and water to clean her armor and shield,

Through a heavy door at the back of the storage room, across from the docking doors, was a wide and short room full of mechanical contraptions she didn't understand. At the back, the storage compartment, and at the front was the piloting compartment. Though they _looked_ like engines and piloting tools, but she knew she'd never be able to tell for certain so she put her simply moved on, heading to her new bathroom to strip and, finally, clean herself properly.

And then, some _real_ exercise and armor maintenance.

"Oh gods…" She murmured, watching steam rise from the water filling the tub with wide, eager eyes. Dipping a hand into it she sighed, smiling, "Oh, hot water… How I have missed you."

Soaking in the tub of hot water and, finally, able to relax she let her eyes close and wondered, for a moment, how her friends were doing… Were they alive? Had her sacrifice _meant_ anything, _done_ anything, been for something? She'd given her life to buy them time, to let them escape, but had they? Lost in those thoughts and feeling her emotions well up, she hugged herself and turned on her side in the hot water, eyes pinched closed against the fear and pain she'd felt. Felt and kept down, until now, under the surface and under control while another was around.

Now, though?

Now she was alone, truly and surely alone in a way that broke her heart to realize, without her team or her friends to comfort her. And she felt it all well up inside herself for the first time, like a tidal wave demanding to break. And break it did, as the woman let out a keening, low cry and began to weep in her hot, soothing bath. Hugging herself in the hot water, she finally let herself break down, unable to continue resisting it any longer. She needed it, she knew, and would deal with the pain and ache in her breast before Legion returned.

She wouldn't burden the machine with her problems further, and it would need her when it got back. Need her in fighting shape, further. That need, at least, assuaged her aching loneliness and grief with purpose. Purpose she focused on as she let herself break, using it to anchor herself and fight through it.

An hour later, she was done and, sitting in now cold water, she grabbed the rag she'd brought with her and began to scrub every inch of herself clean.

_**(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

_**ThermalsniperN7 :**_

**Kinda what I was thinking. Also, the battle before the dying part. I'd be burnt out and exhausted, to say the **_**very**_ **least, after so much shite.**

_**Mafi 99 :**_

**Between ME1 and ME2 is when this takes place, closer to ME2 than 1.**

_**Janed 12000 :**_

**Aside from the Heretic Geth who stood with the Reapers in ME1, the Geth, by and large, just want to be left to live their lives. They are curious about Organics and would **_**enjoy**_ **relations with them, but see no way to do it and, instead, pursue their own future and wish to live to see it. **

_**York 52 :**_

**She will be, yes. Just give it time to get up and moving.**

_**That One Random Dude :**_

**Characters, likely not, at least beyond potential visits and interactions with the Brothers, Light or Dark either way. As for her and Shepard? Yeah, that's kind of how I intend the whole thing to go down.**

**Hard to not believe in people coming back from the dead with Zombie Commando over here taking shots, eh?**

_**Dekuton :**_

**Geth ships are shown in myriad occasions to have atmospheres, as many electronics are more easily produced that function better in it. Those that don't would, ostensibly, vent atmosphere once in space if they felt it necessary. With an organic aboard, simply **_**not doing so**_ **would be simple enough.**

**As for Legion helping Pyrrha, it's as simple as 'You would be harmed for helping me and I don't like that'. **


	3. Chapter 3

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_**(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

'_Grief is a human emotion, as human as any other. It's perfectly normal to feel it, to be broken by it even, if only for a time.'_ Pyrrha remembered her sister saying on the day the Mistralian commander had come, from some far flung military garrison her mother had dove into the fray to save, allowing herself to be overwhelmed and consumed by the black tide so that the Mistralian soldiers and civilians could flee to safety. '_But you can't let it control you. Instead, let it fuel you, and pour all the pain and grief into training. All the better to protect your loved ones from losing you and feeling the same ache.'_

'_How?'_ She'd asked, looking to her oldest sister, armored and regaliad as befitting a Mistralian Huntress, red sash tied around her waist.

'_Take what happened, think about it, and imagine if you were there.'_ When Pyrrha nodded that she had, her sister asked, '_Could you have changed what happened, as the person you are now?'_

'_N-No…'_

'_Then take those emotions, and put them on a shelf where they can't reach you. Way up high, out of reach.'_ Her sister explained simply, '_And then work yourself until you are the kind of person who _could _have changed what happened.' _

'_I-Is that… Could I have helped mother?'_ She'd asked, nervous but hopeful, smiling in the way a child did in response to an adult's warm smile.

'_Of course, little Pyrrha.' _She answered simply, '_A Huntress can do _anything _if she trains hard enough. So train, train, train… Until you are stronger than anything that could possibly dare to step in front of you.'_

Even nine years old, Pyrrha had taken the advice to heart, and the next day she and her oldest sister had trained together. Until her missing her mother was covered by the pain of muscles overspent, bruises well beaten into her, and bandages tied taut around her arms and legs where the practice weapon had bitten a bit deeper. She hadn't cared, though. It was a better ache than the one in her heart, that made her chest tight and her throat constrict.

With that had come a love of training, the challenge of it. Then, when that challenge faded, a love of tournament fighting, where she had again thrown her entire _being_. And so the 'Invincible Girl' had been born, domineering in tournaments and dominating on leaderboards. That had brought a new grief, one rectified eventually for a seemingly blissful time, and now it resulted in yet another kind of ache.

And as before, she hurled herself into training to escape it, rather than wallow in baths and cry her heart out. As admittedly cathartic as _that_ had, in honest fact, been it wasn't actually a constructive path. Or at least, so it was for a Huntress, who every Nikos knew carried the world on their backs. It didn't orbit around them.

And so, she trained and drilled, to prepare herself for… Well, normally it would be for Grimm, but now she didn't know. Regardless, something would no doubt come, and she would need to be at her best, even if the threat wound up merely being organics - as the machine would say - who hold too much hatred for her Geth companion. She would _not_ allow ignorant, angry minds to kill her friend. And so she would train, to protect him and herself, if from different enemies.

The room she'd been given came with a clock that, at her words, would see her awake to chiming bells each morning and alert her when it was time to sleep each evening. A shower was her first order of business, followed by a small meal, and then the start to an exercise regimen that, while somewhat lax by her standards when she was in a state such as she was, would keep her well enough in shape to be useful. Even if she lacked any _real_ workout attire, her black under armor clothing would more than suffice for the task.

It wasn't like Legion would stare at the exposed skin or tight, form fitted clothing, after all. And needs must, beside. As they had on the fighter, for all _that_ time, when she'd stripped down to clean herself or her clothing. While she'd never been nude, too modest as she would say it, she'd tended to end up as she was now. Her modesty was a concern too ingrained in her, as a _person_, to ignore.

But it was a _civilian_ one, and one she had numerous times shaken off. Finally, she'd shaken off that inner conflict once again, and chided herself for thinking like a child, like a _civilian_ even, and set to work properly.

The weights Legion had procured weren't sufficient for weight training - Nora had _long_ and _well_ ruined normal weights for the woman, though remembering that was bittersweet at best - but they were excellent for crunching, sprinting and Semblance practice. For weight and endurance training, her eyes turned to the heavy crates, full of electronics, spare parts she couldn't identify - to the point of _assuming_ they were spare parts, even - and, in a few cases, rations of water and food for her. The crates were heavy steel, industrially rugged, and heavy enough even she grunted from effort in picking them up.

In short? They were _perfect_ for her to break herself working out over, to harden into something better than she had been.

Victory was non-negotiable, after all. Particularly when the lives of her loved ones and the innocent behind her counted on it. In Beacon, she'd failed.

On _Omega_ she would not. And so she would train.

Closer to a month later than she'd hoped, lying in her bed while the majority of her clothes were washing nearby and she napped boredly, she felt the ship _shudder_ gently around her. A feeling that reverberated through the ship around her _almost_, but distinctly _not quite_, violently. It was as though the entire ship had been taken in hand and, albeit gently, _shaken_. Like a friend shaking her awake, she thought as she rolled on the bed and looked around, waking up from her nap as her mind caught up to what was happening.

Instinctively to her, it was a worrying sensation that screamed to her almost primally - and definitely irrationally - of the ship coming to pieces, to empty her out into the frozen, deadly cold of space that, while she didn't know what it would _do_ for sure, didn't seem a welcoming place. Else, why would the ship lack _opening windows_ among other things?

But rationally, and her trained discipline made leaning on rationality an easy enough task, she recognized the sensation from when she'd been left on the ship. A ship had _docked_ with hers, and that had her on her feet inside a moment.

Most of her clothing was in the wash, leaving her in her shorts and undershirt, but she didn't care for the moment. Too excited was she to have someone, _anyone_, to talk to again after so long all by herself. So excited, in fact, that for once modesty didn't even _occur_ to her to be concerned about. Turning the corner of her door and looking down the hall to the cargo hold, she blinked in momentary confusion.

"Nikos, Huntress." The same voice called, flashlight face snapping around to her, flanges flicking in what she guessed to be surprise. Or relief. It was impossible to tell, really, with its lack of… Well, basically everything that would let someone read a person's mood, really.

But as the newly re-armored and patched machine turned to her, she _felt_ it was looking her over. "You appear to be healthy. Though your complexion has paled since we encountered you on Eden Prime."

"I… Well, I haven't exactly seen the _sun_ in a month, it feels like." She smiled, crossing her arms over a bust that… She realized was not very well covered only now, though she barely cared at the moment. Swallowing her embarrassment, she asked, "Did your trip go well? I noticed your, er, body looks a bit better."

"We conducted repairs en route to meet the ship we left you on." The machine answered in an almost, but not quite, defensive sounding voice, its flanged head flicking and twitching in response. "The armor was discovered at the location, and is of sufficient quality for military use. It was abandoned in the crash location… And there was a hole."

"It looks good on you, Legion." She assured him, giving the blak and red armor a look and a nod for his benefit. It really did, though part of the right side near the bottom was missing, exposing the sides of cauterised cabling. After a moment, she spotted something on the armor and her brows furrowed in mild confusion, "What does 'N7' mean, though? The symbol is on your chest and shoulder."

"N7 is a military vocational designation used by the Human Systems Alliance. The 'N' signifies a special forces applicable role in their vocational job training, though what precisely that entails can vary." Legion explained, leaving the obvious - like how a Biotic, for she'd read on them with how Legion had brought them up, would receive was different to anyone else - out entirely. "The numerical designations ranging from '1' and through '7' classify stages of completed training and officiation, with the latter being the highest grade, meaning one has completed the entire Interplanetary Combatives Training program and is thus ready for deployment. The designation is also unique as Alliance personnel may wear it on their uniforms, and further, it is not earned by course training but instead by life fire and stress-endurance exercises including oxygen deprivation."

"That… Sounds impressive, I suppose, though I don't truly understand all of what that would entail." She knew Mistral trained a special forces regiment in a similar, albeit _planetary locked_ obviously, fashion. And so a military training regimen of high caliber was at least somewhat self-explanatory. "I myself was only a trainee as a Huntress, though I was top of my class and a tournament champion as well."

"That is good." Legion remarked simply, "Omega will likely involve violent altercations."

"Are you…" She paused, searching for a word other than 'allowed' as she knew technically Geth weren't _allowed_ anywhere. After a moment she grimaced and sighed, "Are your kind not allowed on Omega, Legion? I know that most places are, well… Not friendly to you, to say the least."

"The overall governing body does not care so long as we go to them first, but the people on the station might." Legion answered simply, turning to begin making its way towards Pyrrha and then past her, towards the piloting section. "According to the time, it is early morning. Are you rested, Nikos?"

"Just call me Pyrrha, please." Nikos was too formal for her liking, really. Even in her early days, she'd disliked the 'miss Nikos' she got so often. And while Legion seemed to swap between her first and last name, she trusted he'd acquiesce to her request. "And I am quite rested, yes. Why do you ask?"

"We are at the Relay into the Omega system, and it will take only an hour to reach the station on arrival." The machine informed her simply, turning to look over its newly armored shoulder at her. With a flick of its flanges it asked, sounding amused, "Did you not notice that the ship was moving since approximately two weeks prior?"

"I… Well, no, I did not." How could she have, really? She'd not felt any changes, at least. Waving the entire problem off she sighed and chuckled dryly, "I can be ready inside fifteen minutes, Legion. Just let me know and I'll be ready to head out with you."

"Acknowledged." The machine, well, _acknowledged_ before turning and leaving her in the hallway.

Stretching her arms high overhead, using one hand to pull and stretch her shield arm, she sighed. Then, she smiled excitedly and bounded into her room, grabbing her leather bodice and setting to work checking and rechecking it over and over before moving on to the next piece. Finally, a chance to get out of a space ship and onto something larger. She couldn't _wait_ to explore, the first woman from Remnant to ever set foot on an alien space station!

It was _exhilarating_.

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Omega was _disgusting_, Pyrrha decided virtually as soon as they'd docked in the upper sections and stepped off onto the foul smelling station.

The entire station, or each and every last one of the winding halls they passed through from the docking sections at least, was _filthy_. Covered in dirt, piled detritus and random points, and old, rusted cabling and piping along the walls and ceiling. The people they passed in the moderately large hallways were filthy, wearing dirty clothes, some sporting bandages, and many smelling stronger than the station around them. They were dregs and poor-bodies, she knew the look and smell both from her time in Mistral's upper tiers, where she'd trained with Mistralian soldiers. Occasionally she'd seen people like these, when they'd be taken down with the military trainers to patrol the lower tiers. Then and now, she felt shame at how grateful she was when they inevitably pressed away from them, giving the machine a wide berth and wary stares but largely ignoring the armored woman at its side. Most of them weren't Human, though that had been the same in Mistral, as much the same, in fact, as the look of poverty and desperation on their often malnourished bodies and in their eyes.

As with the Faunus then, she wanted to help them. Her oaths as a Huntress _bid_ her to, but she had not the foggiest idea how to manage it any more now than she had then. Now, though, she had someone she could _ask_.

"Legion," she started, moving to the machine's more naturally Geth side, "these people-"

"Would not accept help from an Organic they did not know, much less from a Geth, Pyrrha." The machine interrupted gently, quietly even. Like it was afraid to be overhead, somehow, above the murmuring of the people around them and the mechanical sounds that overlapped even that. In that same voice, the machine went on, "We would help them, otherwise, if we could. But further than their ninety-three percent approximate probable refusal rate, Aria T'Loak would likely see it as a move against her."

"Helping people?"

"Doing anything without explicit permission is against Omega law." Legion corrected gently, turning only enough to get Pyrrha into its sight. After a moment of consideration, and a flick of its metal flanges, it add. "If you wish to undergo charity operations, we will supply support as needed."

"I..." She wanted to, to stay and help these people seemed an easy choice. An obvious one, even. "I have no Lien- _Credits_, rather. Nor do I have friends to help me here on the station, because I know you will have to leave."

"We are... Friends?"

"I would say so, yes. If you would, at least." Not nearly the kinds of friends that she'd had in Beacon, of course. Such took time and effort, she knew, and the Geth was kind and gentle in a way that seemed surprising, given his mechanical nature. When it seemed to hesitate, she sighed and spoke. "My friend- My partner, rather, he had a saying. 'Strangers are just friends you haven't met yet'. We have _more_ than met, and I would hardly call us enemies."

"Friends… Friends." The machine repeated, flanges twitching rapidly at the word, like it was testing it. Finally, its head bobbed slightly and its flanges stilled as they stepped out onto a wide, open area. And it said one, single word. "Acknowledged. And we have arrived at Afterlife, where we will meet Aria T'Loak."

"Lead the way, then, Legion." She nodded, rolling her shoulders reflexively as the line of waiters outside noticed them. Some cat called her, which she was used to, and some hurled insults and slurs at her mechanical companion.

Those she was… _Less_ used to.

The Mistralian _felt_ Afterlife far before she saw the second door open, the guards waving them in as they approached. The club _thrummed_ and _thumped_ like a thing alive, enough to have her grimace in discomfort when the second set of doors slid open. Inside was cleaner, at least in the sense of grime, rust and dirt that had soiled the outside. The people were more cleanly dressed as well, for those who _were_ dressed and not dancing, blue skinned and nude, on tables or poles around the club. Humans were as well, of course, as well as a strange, birdlike alien towards the back, on top of a table where four bulkier versions of the same sat cheering, but the majority were, according to Legion's explanations weeks prior, Asari.

There were plenty of uniforms, too. Bright blues, reds, greens, silvers, all smattered around the bar and clustered together at tables. Most were armed, she guess from the blocks on their backs that all looked _similar_, if not quite the same, as Legion's rifle when it was collapsed for travel. And she'd toured enough of Mistral's outer, periphery settlements to recognize mercenaries when she saw them.

And the way they moved, like liquid almost, made her wonder why they didn't take up the job of fighting. Or rather, if they had in the past, and _chose_ to come here after.

The dancing around the club slowed, but never really _stopped_, as the Geth walked by towards the raised platform at the back of the room where a figure stood. Whether the figure was watching the club or _them_, Pyrrha couldn't be sure, but she had a feeling on which it actually was.

"Weapons, _Geth_." The alien - a Turian, from pictures Legion had shown her in their first weeks together - demanded as they walked to the base of the ramp up on the far side. Legion didn't comment, simply handing over its pistol, and the alien gave Pyrrha's sword a look and snorted as she handed it over. "A sword? Really?"

"It does the jobs I need it to do, yes. And their names are Milo and Akuo, though I… Do not know how much named weapons matter to you." She rambled, watching the Turian shrug uncaringly and hand the collection off to a Batarian behind him, who dumped them unceremoniously in a bin on the floor and snorted at her affronted expression.

"They'll be fine, if they're worth a damn as weapons." The Turian snapped, turning to Legion at her side, "And you. You the same one that came around, a couple months back? Asking about... Asking about that dead Alliance woman, right?"

"Affirmative." Legion answered, "This unit has been dubbed 'Legion' by Pyrrha Nikos. We are a terminal of the Geth."

"Reason for coming?"

"We wished to ask new questions of Aria T'Loak." The machine answered mechanically, adding after a second, "We brought Geth technology to trade, as per our previous agreements with your employer. Our intentions are peaceful."

"Uh huh, uh huh… Where'd you get the girl, then?" The Turian's mandibles flanged like Legion's did, though she was certain they meant different things by the gestures. Before Legion could answer, he asked _her_, "Where'd the battery operated bastard take you from, huh? He buy you off some slavers? 'Cus Omega is a lotta things, but we don't tolerate Spirits depraved slavers around-"

"No! No, I'm not… Not a slave." Gods, they had slavery to contend with? What manner of galaxy had she wound up in? Taking a breath, the Mistralian explained as best she could, keeping out the more… Fantastical elements. The Turian, for all his brutishness, seemed oddly concerned and good intentioned, but that didn't mean he'd buy any story she spun. "We met on a planet- a Human one, I mean. He was damaged by a local garrison, and saved me from a-a… Woman."

"A…" The alien paused, unsure now she'd defended the Geth so openly, "A woman? Who was attacking you?"

"Yes." Pyrrha answered, sliding into a truth to fit her lie. It made her sick to do it, but she wouldn't let Legion be insulted this way when she could fix it. And the truth would be called insanity, and likely worsen the situation, regardless. "Dark haired, and with amber eyes. She had… Abilities I'd never had to fight before. Hurled herself around, hit me with what felt like fire, I… Legion saved me. I would have died."

"Like fire…?"

"Sounds like biotics to me, shit looks and feels like fire if ya don't know the difference." The Batarian grunted, swaggering forward and cocking its head to the side. Four eyes narrowed on the two of them, both pairs flicking between woman and machine. "So what, he saved your ass all banged up, so you saved his?"

"Yes, he did. Though, all my saving constituted was covering him while we ran, so I feel undeserving of much credit." It was a rather close end point to the true story, really. And she had zero doubts Legion would face Cinder if the fight came back around to knock. Seizing the moment, she added, "The Geth aren't a bad people. No more than anyone else, and Legion has been nothing but kind to me."

"Our intentions are peaceful." Legion reiterated, "And further, we seek understanding of Organic species, in hopes of facilitating negotiations and agreements. We wish only to pursue that understanding. And Pyrrha Nikos has offered to help us do that. We are grateful, and would never harm her."

"Well, isn't that just the quaintest, _sweetest_ little story I've heard all week." A voice, smooth and chilling, called out from atop the ramp. The Asari woman descending waved for her guards to disperse and they did, moving several feet away where they could watch for any attempts against the woman but, Pyrrha was sure with the incessant music, not _hear_ them speaking. Smiling a toothy smile, the woman, Aria Pyrrha now assumed, asked, "Legion was it?"

"Affirmative."

"Great, Legion then. Come on, if we're to talk about business we'll do it where I can sit, at least." She turned, waving a hand over her shoulder for them to follow and, after a moment, they did.

By the time they got up into the box, where the music was muted by the thick glass, Aria was sitting on the long cough with a leg resting on her knee and her arms stretched along the back to either side. Legion came to a stop a few feet in front of her, at the center of the room, and Pyrrha stood beside him unsurely.

"Sit down, girl, you don't have to stand there looking like a freshman up to slaughter at a frat house or something." Aria ordered, waiting until the Mistralian had sat beside the door opposite the one she'd come in to sigh and turn to the Geth. "You're here, so I'm going to hazard a _wild_ guess and say my information was on the money?"

"Affirmative."

"Yeah… That her armor, then? No word of _another_ N7 Human or Alliance ship giving up the ghost to the black in that sector, I'd have heard about it." The Geth nodded its head slightly and Aria sighed, grimacing and shaking her head. When she spoke next, her voice was laced with agitation and her face was a mask, flat and plain as though hiding something. What, Pyrrha would never know, she was sure. Only that there was _something_ she didn't want to show. "Damn it… And you got that armor, so I'm guessing you scavenged it to wear. That about right?"

"There was a hole..."

"Yeah, and you patched it with _dead Shepard's_ armor- Fuck!" Aria leaned forward, shaking her head gently and clasping her hands together. "The Collectors? They do it? I heard rumors they were in the sector when the _Normandy_ went down."

"The ship sections showed signs of intensive thermal lance damage, which is not the norm for any Terminus mercenaries or pirates." Legion answered simply, "Further, the site was not looted as pirates or mercenaries would do, and to destroy the ship so completely precludes efficient slaving tactics. Removing these variables, it is likeliest that the Collectors struck the _Normandy_, and they have the technology to do so by all evidence."

"Motive?"

"Unknown." Legion answered, waiting through the woman's swear before moving on. "Given their preexisting habit of collecting unique technologies and individuals for study, however, it is possible they wanted to capture Shepard for examination and experimentation."

"Her armor was there, though, so they couldn't have." The sentence was as much of a question as a statement, and Aria's brow rose with it. "You… Didn't find any of the body, did you?"

"It is possible it burned up on reentry, thin atmosphere or not."

"The armor survived, though. Could parts of her have?" Aria demanded, voice low and even, though Pyrrha could _feel_ the hate and anger there as she spoke. "Did the Collectors _collect_ Jane _fucking_ Shepard for their damn experiments?"

"Insufficient data available to draw reasonable conclusions."

"Fucking of course- Corvex! Get your useless, Turian ass up here!" Aria shouted, waiting until the Turian from earlier jogged up the ramp to see what she wanted. Pointing at the alien, she ordered, "I want you to grab some men, and notify the mercenaries. Anyone dealing with Collectors will be evicted from the station via the nearest airlock. Understood?"

"Yes, Aria."

The Turian turned to leave at a dismissive wave from the Asari, and Aria leaned back, letting them sit in silence for a while. Not an uncomfortable silence, surprisingly, but rather a cool one while the blue woman seemed to collect herself. A silence that passed for several minutes, long enough for the club's song to change to something with a somehow faster beat, albeit lower and more withdrawn.

"We're even on the information, then, as we agreed. And you are allowed to achor at omega when you need to. I give you that much, but I can't guarantee how the gangs act. Understood, both of you?" They nodded and Aria mirrored the gesture, "Good, good. Now, what do you need now? Or did you only come to give me your findings in person?"

"We are seeking the location of Shepard, Commander's team members. All have been located aside from one." Legion answered simply, "Do you know of a Garrus Vakarian?"

"Vakarian?" She paused to think and then shook her head, shrugging. "We get a lot of Turians, but that name doesn't stand out as one of mine. Ask the Suns, though. He might have checked in with them, never know. Though actually, don't, the Suns might not be friendly to a Geth in their territory."

"Acknowledged."

"I'll ask around, though, and you'll hear from me if I find anything out." She promised, sighing and shaking her head. A finer rose and wagged at the Geth playfully, and she smiled, adding, "No charge up front, on that, though. Since I don't know how it'll turn out for you. Wouldn't be fair, charging you for nothing."

"We are grateful for fair dealings, Aria T'Loak." Legion nodded, flanges flicking in consideration for a moment. Whatever it had been thinking about, it kept to itself, instead asking its next question. "What do you know of a planet named 'Remnant'? It would likely not be in Alliance space or Citadel space, as we have checked their survey reports."

"Legion-"

"Our companion originally hails from there and, if possible, we would offer to return her to her home planet. But such an offer would be a falsehood if we did not know where the planet was." Legion explained, as much for Aria's benefit and Pyrrha's. Good intentioned and trying to help, she knew from their past interactions, though she was angry, in a way, that he hadn't _asked_ first.

"Second verse, same as the first." Aria sing-songed boredly, raising her brows, "Next?"

"We would like to purchase Pyrrha Nikos a better under armor suit to wear, but the merchants on Omega will not service us." Legion explained, this time on a topic Pyrrha was happy he was asking about.

She had need of an armored undersuit, she knew from Legion that they could protect her from space and, while she didn't know much about space, she would _like that_. She'd have been lying if she said being on space ships and space stations didn't _terrify_ her. But she supposed dying already kind of tempered any intense reactions to fear, now. Understandable, she hoped, and not a sign of some deeper trauma she had no clue how to deal with.

"Give me the credits and sizing, I'll put a man on it. Doing it as thanks for you coming in to tell me about Shepard, and I'm in a good damn mood, but don't get used to it." She nodded, waving her hand in a circle for them to move on. "Got shit to do, so are you done or what?"

"We have one final question." The machine responded simply, the Asari in front of them furrowing her brows at the question. Either in confusion or for some other reason Pyrrha was, once again, not sure. "What do you know about the Reapers? Boards on the Extranet show evidence of a Reaper in the Hawking Eta region. We are interested in it."

"I'll look into it, stick around for, say, a week and come see me again." She promised them, dismissing them moments after when they told her they had nothing else to talk about.

"Oh and one other thing." She called, just before they could leave, her eyes meeting Pyrrha's, "_You_ interest me. Might be the resemblance to Shepard, but… If you need anything, you come talk to me. My guards won't raise a fuss, you can count on that. I hope you enjoy your time on Omega."

"I… Thank you, Miss T'Loak." She gave Legion a push and, sensing her anxiety or just being forced by her admittedly higher than normal strength, the machine hurried down the ramp. They collected their weapons and left in peace, with nary a problem beyond eyes following them out the doors.

But at least there'd not been a fight…

_**(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

_**Xarthos :**_

**Glad to satisfy. Or hope to, rather. **

_**Darth Reviewer :**_

**Without spoilers? Yes, it would be technically possible. The real question is if and how Pyrrha might think about the idea. Unlocking Auras is, after all, meant to be an intimate thing to my belief. Not something done lightly. **

_**The Prime Cronos :**_

**Yes I do. Hence sending her ass to Omega.**

_**Soul of None :**_

**See, kinda wish I had thought of that, now. XD**

_**Dr Killinger :**_

**Hey, what happens on Omega, happens because Aria lets it. So no one says **_**fuck all**_ **about it. Seriously, though, there will be problems with Legion being around. Some were showcased here, on the less stabby and shooty end of the spectrum. **

_**Thermal Sniper N7 : **_

**Just remember her explanation. Only singular pieces can be directly influenced easily, beyond a certain point. Or they need to be small and light. So while yes, she has very clear advantages, she's not **_**god tier**_ **if you catch the drift. **

_**Merendinoe Miliano :**_

**How…? How do I do Arkos in this, though? XD**


	4. Chapter 4

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_**Commission Requester : Espacole**_

_**(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

"Mass Relays interact with Element Zero contained and utilised by ship-board Mass Effect drives." Legion explained for her while he sat in his pilot's seat, taking readings of the glowing orange Relay thousands of miles away. She couldn't see it from inside the ship, of course, but the quarters that Legion had bought them were exterior facing and gave them a wondrous view of it, regardless of its low cost. A cost explained to her as due to the risk of asteroids hitting the dingy little apartment, given they were on the _outside_. "This interaction induces the Mass Effect. A phenomenon that artificially lowers an object's mass, lowering its gravitational field and thus allowing for it to be moved at exceptional speeds over long distances."

"And the relays themselves are pointed along clear lines of space so ships don't hit anything on the way. Like massive rifles firing ship." She guessed, giving the machine next to her a quizzical look and grinning widely when it nodded to show she was right.

"You seem pleased, Pyrrha." The machine observed, causing the woman to flush.

"A-Ah, well, yes… I am pleased that I am learning what you are so kind to teach me so quickly." She answered, fighting to keep her humility, she coughed into a hand to hide the smile and spoke, to cover the action more than anything. "I doubt I will ever understand the physics and mechanisms of the entire procedure, but I _do_ need to know generalities, at the very least."

"We are pleased that you are learning so adeptly." Praise she was used to, from fanatics and sycophants mainly, but this was praise from a machine that didn't _care_ about earning her good graces. And so it had to be truly genuine, or it wouldn't have said it, and that made her preen ashamedly, her humility fighting with her pride at it.

"T-Thank you, Legion…"

As though sensing her internal conflict and seeking to draw amusement from it, the machine turned its head to her, speaking as its fingers flew across the holographic interface. "And your presence has facilitated in large part more close studies of organic species on Omega. We are truly grateful for this assistance."

"O-Of course, Legion. I do not mind in the least." Even if it meant being on the rancid smelling station and dealing with angry aliens often twice her size, and with sour attitudes to boot, she was happy to be of help. "I only wish we could do something to help people on Omega…"

"The people of Omega are not ones that readily accept help, unfortunately." Geth responded, pressing a few keys and standing suddenly, the woman pushing off the wall beside the console and raising her eyebrows curiously. Seeing the question on her face, a skill the machine was steadily learning, it turned to her and explained, "We have completed our scans of the Omega Relay, and found a few anomalies. The data is being uploaded to the Geth collective and will be studied in more depth by them."

"That's, uh…" Disappointing, uninformative and anticlimactic… All apt descriptors, and none of them polite enough she would _ever_ say them out loud. Not to her friend, whether he had feelings he expressed the same way she - or organics, rather - did or not. "Good. I hope you find information that helps you find out what you want to know about Shepard."

Shepard was… Odd, to say the very least about the woman, in as many ways as she herself was almost. Which ought to have been impossible, given her death and godly reincarnation. But the woman was an enigma at the same time as having literally ninety percent of her life on the Extranet, which was an extraordinary feat. One could find out her cup size and her favorite food, on the same site oddly enough, but if one wanted to know her opinion on something? Or her beliefs? Her _training_, Brothers forbid? Anything that might be of value to understanding the woman under the black, bloodied armor she saw plastered across web banners and threads?

Nothing but silence and static, beyond rumor filled threads and conspiracy fuelling videos.

"Do not forget your hardsuit, Pyrrha. We are going to meet Aria once we arrive, which means traversin" The machine added as it stepped into the hallway and the wall slid open, letting it take some time to arm itself. Nothing fancy or new, just its semi-automatic marksman rifle and a blocky Predator pistol, which meant she couldn't distract herself.

Seeing her hesitation, the machine turned to her, "Please get dressed, we will be docking at Omega shortly, and you do not want to risk attack by the gangs there for being underdressed."

"And I know, I'm attractive, and there's… Unkind people that would seek to make money off it, if they could." Slavers among them, Legion _and_ Aria had explained when they'd come to get the form fitting thing.

She was strong, smart, and attractive, and walking around with as much bare skin as she did drew that to the fore. Whereas on remnant, that had been purposeful, a style of herself as a Huntress and a show of her confidence, here it had none of that cultural inclination and information.

None of these people knew what a Huntress was. Or rather, what her kind of Huntress was, as the Asari apparently had an order of warriors who held the same name, or some such. But still, it didn't make her feel better to wear the thing, even as comfortable as it was.

"Protection isn't something you have to enjoy, Pyrrha, but you still have to do it. You agreed to this as part of protecting your friend." The mantra was one she had to repeat often now, whenever this kind of irksome thing came up.

She'd done it at Beacon, too, when Jaune's obliviousness had left her in the cold. Or, somehow worse, spending long hours alone with him under a romantic sky with nary a romantic sentiment from him for it. Grimacing, she chided herself, "Don't think about that, Pyrrha, you need to focus. Not get upset and lose your cool. Just focus on the hardsuit."

_That_ chiding reminder always worked.

She _hated_ her hardsuit, after all, so it was an adequate distraction.

It felt like something out of films meant for less than savory purposes, to her at least, though Aria had barked a laugh at the murmured statement and explained it was simply Asari style. They were a sexually confident species after all so they didn't largely have much to hide physically. And mono-gendered as well as strange as _that_ was to consider even now a week after Aria had explained it to the 'ignorant colonial' as she'd been dubbed, which could be technically true so she'd let it go.

Every Asari looked similar, even by Aria's admission, thus the face paints and skin inking they had adopted from the Turians, and even beyond that they were practically ageless. She wasn't prone to such things, but she felt certain that after fifty years, a woman's behind in tight armor would grow stale. Familiarity robbed a thing of uniqueness, after all, which was why her first battle with a beowolf had left her quivering and the _hundredth_ had been entirely without ceremony.

For all her vitriol, disquiet and embarrassment in wearing it, it was a rather simple thing though.

Hers was of a lighter bent than some Asari, at Legion and her own request alike when Aria had talked about it, to let her wear her armor and skirt over it. Legion's explanation, and the one she'd gone with, had been that she needed the extra armor, while the _actual _explanation was that she didn't like the way it accentuated her behind and bust. Aria had of course asked why, and Pyrrha had explained what she was and how she fought, albeit without the mentions of Aura, Semblances or her origin point. Aria had chuckled amusedly and then given her the armored suit, on the added condition Pyrrha return to 'show off' those skills sometime soon.

Which, Pyrrha supposed, was why they were on their way back now to go and see her.

The armored suit came in dark grey-black across the entirety with inbuilt shoes, of sorts, with soft, white soles and sides that could fit into her armored boots comfortably. It fitted to her form through means that had been partially explained - some sort of automated suction feature to adhere it to her - but, thankfully, didn't do so in a way that inhibited her movement. And though it hugged her tight enough she almost felt like people were touching her, there was no other adequate comparison for it to her mind, and while she could wear things _over_ it she couldn't wear anything _under _it.

Including her shorts, thus her embarrassment if she didn't wear her skirt and sash over top of the ensemble. And her cuirass besides, of course, though _that_ she had the honest argument of protection for.

The gloves were a piece she enjoyed, though, with a textured grip meant to help maintain a hold on an automatic weapon while firing. She'd already tried it, but nothing short of letting a weapon go outright tended have her lose her grip, which made the white-palmed piece a nice addition. Her neck was more protected now as well, with a thick fabric wrapped around it that capped the base of her skull, just under her hair at the back and under her chin at the front. It, too, she'd tested herself, drawing the edge of her blade along it and not managing to damage it beyond some surface scrapes.

From her palm, at the juncture of her thumb and forefinger, and the outside of her ankles both, a finger's width white line climbed smoothly along the outside of her limbs and around her neck's fitted collar. It then dove down, between the curve of her breasts, and opened on her stomach in a wide white swathe that looked to her like a lizard's underside, with the small almost scale work that made up the suit.

In her armor as she was now, one couldn't tell, but _without_ the armored greaves and leather cuirass, she looked rather like a lizard.

"But you don't look like on in your armor, so no one will know." She told herself, stretching in her quarters with her armor on, as much to limber herself as to check the straps of her equipment and ease out the undersuit. Grimacing, she realized, "Except Aria… Who got this for me and knows _exactly_ what I look like."

"Are you clothed?" Geth asked after rapping a metal knuckle on her closed door the way she'd taught it to. There'd been a few _incidents_ that had led up to that, once she'd had her own room and wanted some privacy.

Thankfully, between them, she was the only one that cared about whether or not Legion saw what was under her shirt.

"Yes, I'm decent." She answered, putting aside the memories of her awkwardly explaining what _knocking_ was and why it was important. Adjusting a greave, she added, "You can come in, Legion. I'm almost ready to go, I just need to check a couple things first."

"If you are ready, we must depart." Legion answered as the door opened and the ship shuddered. Its flanges flicked and it added needlessly, "We are at Omega, and Aria is waiting on us. It would not do to make her wait, she has a history of impatience and we need her permission to operate on Omega."

"I know, Legion, and we won't make her wait." She stood with the words and flicked her arms, summoning Milo and Akouo to her hands and rolling her shoulders. With a smile, she shrugged and finished with, "I'm ready now. Aria wants a display of my abilities, for her own amusement or for whatever other reason, and I do not mind giving her it."

"I believe she means for you to fight one of her guards."

"I had anticipated as much, yes." A spar would, after all, be the easiest way to get a measure of her capabilities. Stepping past legion, she spoke over her shoulder while they walked to the cargo bay and, beyond it, to their quarters on Omega at large. "Do not worry for me, Legion. I have fought monsters that dwarf anything anyone on this station as likely seen."

"That is unlikely. Thresher Maws are common beasts for mercenaries to run into on missions and Aria T'Loak's forces are entirely made up of-"

"It's a turn of phrase, Legion." She chuckled, using her Semblance to wrench open the old, rusted and marred hatch that let into their quarters. It screeched its protest as usual but let them through and Pyrrha gave the machine a small, amused smile as they stepped through the empty, rusted brown colored, one room apartment. "All it means is that I can fight well enough that I am not worried about a little spar between her own guards and myself."

"Acknowledged." The machine agreed quietly, walking a step behind her as she looked over the apartment.

"People use them to make points more quickly than spelling it out would cost. It's… About efficiency, I suppose." There wasn't even a proper bathroom, just a small bowl set against the outside wall that would vent into space at the press of a button. Not that it mattered, with the ship attached and having its own facilities. Still, she went on "Maybe she would agree to some prize money? We could use it to decorate."

"...Acknowledged." The machine finally answered, sealing the hatch behind them. It didn't specify which statement of hers it had _acknowledged_ exactly, and she didn't ask. Instead, before she really _could_ ask, it offered a chipper, "We wish you luck in your spar regardless, Pyrrha."

"I thought machines wouldn't believe in luck."

"We do not." The machine answered, an edge of… Humor to its voice, somehow, as its flanges twitched. "It was a 'turn of phrase', Pyrrha."

Outside their so-called apartment was a veritable maze of winding, catacomb-like tunnels made of alternating slabs of asteroidal stone, grated metal and a litany of different floors besides. Metal tiles, ancient, cracked and ruined stone tiles, pipes encrusted by dirt after doubtless centuries of passersby treading on them. The doors that led into the housing units varied equally as much, from recessed hatches with pipes around them like a spider's web to smooth stone buildings, and rusted sheet metal constructs that looked more cobbled together than _built_, per se. It was as though every compartment, floor and section had been assembled over centuries by a thousand different empires, companies and peoples.

Which, to her knowledge on the matter, was actually rather close to the truth.

Navigation way blessedly simple with a Geth around, of course. It had simply downloaded a map of the station, and they used it to navigate the various walkways, impromptu marketplaces, stairs and elevators. Some of the people they brushed by, or had to squeeze past with their hands on their weapons in some tighter and more packed avenues, stared at them. Some gazes were curious, some leered at her, some _glared_ at him, but none made a move against them.

Geth instilled fear _and_ hate, and the former kept the common man in line.

When they reached Afterlife near an hour later, the club was, for the first time since she'd first walked up to it over a week prior, _silent_. For the briefest moment she worried the place had been attacked and she paused at the end of the accessway, after they'd passed the mad Batarian preacher on their way up the elevator system from their _much_ lower, exterior docking point.

But the worry, ingrained deeper in her psyche than she'd ever admit from Beacon's fall, vanished in the same moment it appeared. There was still a trio of guards in front of the doors, and a line of those who wanted into the club in front of those guards, arguing, pushing each other, and generally heckling for entry into the vaunted club. Oddly, she noticed a distinctly higher number of _Krogan_, some sporting uniform colors and insignias, among the lined up waiters.

They only held her gaze for a moment, though, before it was ripped away to something else. Along with her breath.

A blonde young man among them turned to his Turian friend, smiling a wide smile and grabbing the lithe alien's talons in his hands, bouncing on the spot excitedly. Her own eyes widened at the gesture, a Krogan laying a hand on the young man's shoulders and holding him still, speaking too quietly to hear but earning a good natured eye roll from the Human regardless.

"Jaune…" Her heart _clenched_, even as she catalogued the dozens of differences between the blonde and _her_ blonde. The height difference, the lack of a sword, the energetic Nora-like exuberance, all told her that this was someone else.

It didn't stop her heart thrumming in her breast, or her hands shaking, or her eyes watering, or-

"Pyrrha." She flinched and turned at the voice, Legion's level gaze meeting hers plainly. The flourescent bulb that was its face twitched and rotated, taking her in while its mandibles flicked and flinched expressively. Finally it pushed her away from the door and against one of the windows that looked out on the station's insides spanning far and away and, voice low, asked, "Are you well? You appear to be in distress."

"I-I am quite alright, I just…" Saw a blonde person and had a panic attack? What was she supposed to really say about that, really? Instead she sighed and, gently, pushed the machine back a step, smiling so it knew she wasn't angry. "I had a moment, Legion. That is all."

"Due to what happened to you on your homeworld?" It asked, carefully constructing the question to avoid prying ears no doubt. Legion was surprisingly adept at considering those kinds of things.

"Yes, I…" Didn't know what to say, really. Forcing another smile she shrugged and sighed, "I saw someone that looked like someone from my home." At Legion's surprised turn, clearly searching the crowd for someone like her enough to distinguish, she giggled quietly and added, "I was mistaken, Legion."

"Are you certain?"

"Yes, they…" She sighed, leaning against the low piping and hoping that no one was paying them too much mind. A hard ask, with a Geth standing in front of her, but still a hope she held out for nonetheless. Though she would not be checking to see, for the same dark blue and black reason. "They looked similar enough to shock me, but they are here with friends. Alien friends. And once I looked closer, a thousand differences sprang up. I just…"

"It is common among Human psychology for those suffering from traumatic stress disorders to suffer from panic attacks when exposed to triggers." Its flanges twitched and it turned back to her, adding in a grave tone. "We believe it likely that blondes are such a trigger for you. Perhaps we should avoid them in future, Pyrrha."

"Legion, I don't think the hair color is what mattered, really." Or maybe it was a part of the problem, she mused, unable to be sure on the matter. Regardless, she pushed off the piping and sighed. "It's a combination of things, really… And I'm a warrior, Legion. I can get past this, I just need time."

"Pyrrha, you have been through what virtually no other organic could claim to have been through." Legion argued gently, or as gently as a machine could do _anything_ really. Which wasn't a slight, it was actually… Rather good at being kind, as it was now. "If you are in ways damaged as a result, we will offer no judgement. Instead we would like to endeavour to find you treatment as we are-"

"No, Legion!" She snapped, harsher than she meant to. The machine flinched, eye rotating back and flanges flicking and then halting suddenly around its head like small flower petals, and she grimaced. Sighing, she spoke slowly and deliberately, hoping not to hurt Legion's feelings, such as they were, any more than she already had, "I'm not broken, Legion. I don't need some doctor rooting around in my head, I can get over this my self."

"But-"

"I appreciate the concern, Legion. I truly do, and can't explain properly how grateful I am for it." She cut him off again, smiling gently and offering a small, firm nod. "I am more than adult enough to deal with my own emotions, I assure you. I just need you to trust me, alright?"

"...Acknowledged." The machine answered simply, turning and resuming its walk towards the club. "In that case, we must be under way. Aria T'Loak has already been made to wait, and she does not like being made to wait."

"Yes, let's not keep her waiting any longer… Not over me, at any rate." She agreed. But… Was she crazy, or did Legion sound almost angry? Its voice was lower and warbled differently, almost like an inflection.

The reason for the club's lack of music in the main club at least had an easy, readily seen explanation..

As always when she'd needed to come to Afterlife, the round tables that surrounded the raised platform in the middle of the room were full to brimming, with those unable to sit instead standing around the table. Some leaned against walls, others sat on crates and even more had climbed up on the boxy walls and compartments that ringed the club's main room, where even _more_ crates had been set up in rings of seats and tables, lower crates for the former and taller ones for the latter. Here and there, women moved carrying food and drink and lacking various amounts of clothing, the dancers that normally stood on the tables, along the walls and on top of the tall central platform serving as waitresses now rather than dancing, though they walked mostly nude regardless and Pyrrh tried to ignore it.

And the confusion over that lasted only a moment, before her eyes landed on the platform itself, where no dancers stood plying their, er, _wares_ as it were.

Instead, from the floor of it to the ceiling, thick chain link fencing had been fixed into place, the lights at the apex of the room over the bar bright and shining down on the platform. Every few feet, the same poles the dancer's used, as far as she could tell, had been moved to the edge of the platform and used as anchor points for the fencing. A massive, reinforced and iron seat sat in one corner of the _very_ roughly octagonal arena, with another far smaller stool on the opposite end clearly intended for her.

All in all, the night club looked less like a seedy bar and exotic dancing venue and more like… Well, like a tournament ground, she supposed.

"Ah, the woman of the hour has _finally_ arrived!" Pyrrha jumped at the sound and looked to Aria's little VIP room, the woman standing with her hands on her hips and narrowed eyes. With a wave of her hand, she directed everyone to where the young redhead was and added, "And you brought your robot friend, too! Awesome. We've _all_ been waiting for you, Little Red."

Inside a second, every eye in the club was on her. Some oggled her like she always had to deal with from the crowd while others considered her a mere curiosity they soon grew bored with, and still others looked at her judgingly. Analytically more like, she supposed, looking her up and down and gauging her abilities ahead of the coming fight. The latter she was used to as well, though she was _not_ used to it coming from a veritable horde of aliens that looked mildly like a cross between lizards, turtles and an encounter with a large, angry cat.

One of those Krogan, old looking and wearing dark, ruddy orange armor pitted with bullet scars and crossed by what looked almost like claw marks, began climbing up and into the improvised arena. His skin was a pale yellow, almost to match the armor, but his scarred crest burned a bright red like a raw wound. Beyond that, though, he looked like any other Krogan mercenary, with the same heavy, thick armor they all wore, albeit more heavily scarred and weathered.

Seemingly tired of waiting, or wanting eyes back on her Pyrrha could never tell with Aria, the woman called out for attention.

"Now that our guest of honor has _finally_ arrived, we can begin! Some introductions and then we can watch a real, Omega branded _brawl_ ladies and gentleman!" The woman beamed a vicious smile, letting the crowd roared its approval for a moment before raising her hands to either side of herself in a request - demand, really, Aria didn't _request_ anything - for silence. "Now, on the one hand, we have an eight hundred year old, battle hardened, Krogan warrior right out of Tuchanka, paid for my personal protection, Kralt Taratog."

For a moment, the crowd was lost again in distinctly Krogan roars of approval, the warrior grinning ferally and pounding his fists together for the attention. The action sent tremors through his armor, his shoulder pauldrons shaking, but the young Huntress ignored it.

Boastful flexing and posing was meaningless, she knew from experience, and the more someone did it the more likely they were to lose as far as she could tell.

"On the other hand, we have a young woman hailing from a far away, backwater world that isn't even on any of _my_ charts. A tournament champion, according to her own words, who fights with a spear and a shield! Like something out of a movie, isn't it?" Aria laughed and the crowd joined her, every eye watching her climb up into the ring herself. Some even hurled various bits of detritus her way, but she dodged them as deftly as she would anything else and pulled the fence shut behind her. "Give us a good show, Nikos."

"I intend to." She called back, earning another feral smile from the woman.

"You had better." Aria sneered imperiously, "Because the one who loses this fight gets banned from Omega for the rest of their lives."

Her eyes widened, but it was far too late to back down now. Instead, she flicked her arms and called her weapons to her, sword unfolding into its spear form in her hand. She let it rest against the ground and sighed, murmuring a simple, "Well, I hope this is entertaining enough for you, God…"

It certainly wasn't for _her_.

_**(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

_**Side note, when Pyrrha mentions prize money, it is meant as a remark on her having participated in tournaments which, no doubt, had prizes for their winners to take. Just to clarify.**_

_**Further, Pyrrha's refusal to get help for her problems is not in any way an insult to anyone. Many people, myself included, are brought up in an environment that precludes seeking help for emotional and mental problems. 'Just be a man' is a saying that furthers this, for instance. Why would the Goddess of Victory, the perfect warrior, Pyrrha Nikos be raised to accept being broken inside?**_

_**(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

_**Omega Ultima :**_

**I love all the ideas and brainstorming. Keep going, I enjoy reading it. **

_**Mecharic :**_

**Your poor keyboard~!**


	5. Chapter 5

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His talons sought out and found the flaw he'd felt inside a few minutes, his prized Mantis in pieces scattered around him, the shoddy, old and worn down inertial dampening system. The seventh he'd been through, purchased from the most 'reputable' smuggler that ran between here and the Citadel. Albeit with a few _dozen_ stops before here, and the middle-aged Turian's _complete_ knowledge that _reputable_ and _smuggler_ belonged in the same sentence as much as 'fun poison' or 'a good day with Saren'.

"Just the nature of Omega, I guess." He sighed, turning on the low, rusty stool and flicking the piece across the tiny room he was in.

One of many 'safehouses' his crew ran across the station, this one had the downside of being little more than a glorified closet just large enough to fit in a small cot that could comfortably fit _half_ his frame, and a long desk from the edge of the bed to the wall the door was set into, only a couple feet away with a small hatch that would let down for him to use the toilet, before disappearing it off to somewhere he didn't care about. Probably right off into space, if he had to guess, since he doubted anyone cared to actually bother with a water treatment and refinery system.

Again, though, just the nature of Omega.

And not one that even a rifle with a _functioning_ inertial absorption unit would help with, much less his current paper weight, to boot.

"Maybe I should sent Krantus to the Citadel itself. Hate bein' down a rifle..." He murmured, leaning over his table and staring down at the disassembled weapon. His old, weather beaten and combat aged Avenger rested propped at the back of the table in full form, of course, and he could easily use it, but… "A marksman's weapon it is not, even if it's damn fine as an assault rifle."

No amount of recoil dampening upgrades, barrel bore extenders, armor piercing processors or even expensive, hard to maintain sometimes, scope interfaces. The little devices were small, his attached to the back of the Avenger's curve, but integrated right into helmets and eyepieces like he wore. They were nifty things, able to zoom, swap between thermal and other settings and more. It also cost him enough he could have bought a _gunship_, not that he had any illusions about which was more useful.

Gunships were too obvious, after all, and easy targets in a fight.

"Can always deal with it later, and don't have any option otherwise." He finally decided, setting to work arraying the parts in small, rusty containers to keep specific parts separate and easily found - or noticed missing if they were stolen - when he wanted to fix the rifle.

Which would take some time to do, while he waited on a usable internal recoil dampener to show up or for someone to go _get it_, unless he wanted to forego it. Which would probably be 'dying' levels of bad, so he wasn't all that enthusiastic to do _that_ any time soon.

Giving up, he turned on the stool and leaned against the table, pressing a long talon to his ear-piece and asking, "Sidonis, do you know what's going on yet? It's been an hour past already, report in with something or I'll feed you to a Krogan."

"He wasn't going to eat me, I explained that to you, Arch. Just… Beat me to death and feed me to his Varren, which is a _different_ thing and you know it so don't start." Sidonis' smooth, metallic voice echoed through his ear piece almost as soon as Garrus finished speaking. Garrus only snorted in answer, so Sidonis could properly make a report. "Aria cleared out the dancers from the center stage, like you though. Most of 'em are down in the lower club, some are up in the upper one, sitting in laps or waiting tables for tips, you know how it can be here sometimes."

"Yeah, I do." He'd spent enough time in Afterlife, wearing cheap, shoddy armor painted in nondescript, clearly mercenary colors and with an Asari half-naked on his lap or table leaching his Credits. Not his favorite way to pass time, but you could learn a lot by watching all of the patrons, and a Turian standing shock still in the corner watching everyone was fairly obvious. "Not the first time she's shoved debtors, or people she didn't like, in a cage up there to duke it out and amuse her. Who's the unfortunate son of a bitch, then? Anyone we know?"

"No, I don't know her, and the only Krogan we're friends with is sleeping right now." Sidonis' answer was instant, a testament to the Turian man's surety of the statement. "She's up against a Krogan. Big scarred bastard of one, too. Old. A veteran of mercenary companies, if I had to put down some credits."

"Do we need to intervene?"

"It's Afterlife." This answer was equally firm and fast, the older C-Sec veteran grimacing at it. "You know she doesn't care what we do, Arch, because it doesn't fuck with her."

"And if we go in on Afterlife, that'll change and we'll end up deader than good samaritans on Omega." He grimaced at the accuracy of the saying and then sighed at the situation entirely, shaking his head and ordering, "Standby there, then. Stay and watch the fight, or buy a prostitute for the night. Alina, if you can find her. She's quiet about whatever she sees, and liable to take a payday even if you don't take her home."

"The green haired Human?"

"Yeah, usually works the upper floor, but-"

"Just watched her walk out with a pair of Humans." Sidonis interrupted, earning a frustrated swear from his commanding officer. Sidonis, good natured as he always tried to be, let him vent for a moment before explaining simply. "Look, I'll put some credits down on the fight. Bet for the Human girl, then storm out like I'm pissed when she loses."

"A good enough plan." Even if he didn't like using the young woman's death to skate out of Afterlife, he couldn't help her. So he may as well make _use_ of her, help take down the bastards doing all of this. "Get her name down for me, too. We'll meet up after the fight in safehouse four and run it. Money says slavers."

"A Geth came in with her…"

"Money says Geth, now." He growled, talons on his other hand flicking in agitation. A Geth kidnapping a girl and selling her to Aria to… To what? Entertainment didn't make sense, Geth didn't need it and Aria almost exclusively used these little fights for vendettas. "What's the girl's name, Sidonis?"

"Uh, something Nikos- Pyrrha, Pyrrha Nikos." The other Turian didn't ask why Garrus wanted to know, knowing that he'd be sending the name out immediately into the Extranet. Searching for the girl's origin. To that end, he added, "Long red hair, pale skin, green eyes. Wears what looks like bronze armor, probably painted, and a leather cuirasse of some kind. Carries… A shield and a spear?"

"Seriously?" He knew better than to question whether Sidonis was telling the truth, though. If Sidonis said it, he trusted him at his word. They were comrades, after all, and Shepard would skin him for doubting his squad if she were here. "Whatever, anything else you can say? Anything anyone said?"

"No, except Aria used a _clearly_ made up planet name for where she's from. Remnant? Pfft." Covering her trail, then, though Sidonis didn't say that.

"Yeah, clearly fake… I'll punch it into my search protocols regardless, though. Might mean something somewhere." And if nothing else, _that_ had his instincts running wild with questions and curiosities. He couldn't place it, but it felt important he find out about her. Enough so he brought out his Omni-Tool right then, patching into his secure line to feed through to the Citadel and run a missing persons search. "If she survives, let me know, and try and trail her."

"Planning to recruit her?"

"If she _wins_? Maybe." Though he doubted it, there was nothing saying a Human woman skilled enough to match up to a Krogan couldn't sign on with him. "But no, I want to see if we can't rescue her."

"Why?"

"Because she needs it?" He had to fight not to snap, and still did so a little bit. He'd apologize later, he eventually decided.

"No, I meant, why risk Aria's attention?"

"Ah." A good question, really, and not one he had a real answer to. Or at least, not a _real_, fact backed answer that he could give his partner right then. Instead, he offered a simple, "My gut says it's the right call. Like something's telling me that she's important. How, I dunno, all I got is that I feel like we _have_ to help her."

"Seriously?"

"It's what made me intervene and save your scrawny ass, so yeah." It was true, too. He'd not wanted to start out so obvious, face uncovered, with pissing off the Blood Pack. But seeing Sidonis' face, mandible cracked and bleeding, he couldn't walk away. Something compelled him to step in. "Just… Trust me, okay?"

"Sure, boss." He could almost _hear_ Sidonis' shrug, and did hear his sigh, through the comms. Sarcastic bastard that he was, he added a last, "You're the team leader, after all. You say jump, I ask what cliff."

With a laugh, Garrus clicked off the line and shook his head, sighing and pulling his Avenger down to work on it while he waited. It's heat emission system needed cleaning, he knew, just from looking it over.

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

"So, Mister Kralt-"

"That's the clan name. Surname, I think you soft skinned Humans call it. I'm addressed by Taratog, or even just Tog." Taratog interrupted, voice rumbling the foot between them easily even over the din of the talking, whooping and cheering crowd around them. Hands on his surprisingly slim hips, the warrior pushed them forward to stretch and added. "I'll try not to kill ya when I beat you into the ground, though, no need to beg. Or act all respectful neither, I ain't gonna try harder to off you if you call me names or nothin'."

"Bold of you."

"Hm?" The Krogan, standing a foot taller than her, almost, yet still at eye level for the contribution his armored hump made to his height. His eyes, she assumed it was male at least, narrowed and he grunted, "What's bold of me, little Red?"

"Assuming you either will or _can_ win a fight with me. It's very daring." She answered simply, smiling when the great alien humphed a laugh and shook his scarred head in amusement. Satisfied to see he was of presumably good temperament, and not of some grandstanding, showboating nature, she offered a hand, letting her spear stand alone under the influence of her Semblance. "Pyrrha Nikos, and it's an honor to fight you, sir Taratog."

"Hah! I like you, Pyrrha." The alien barked another laugh and leaned close, reaching out to clasp her by the forearm and squeezing. Hard enough to need her Aura to protect her, in fact, like he was testing her to see if she'd balk with his hand on her. When she didn't, the Krogan chuffed again and let her go, lumbering back a step. "I like you a _lot_, Pyrrha. A good fight to you!"

"And to you as well, Taratog." She nodded, flicking her hand to the side with it inverted and recalling her spear. The weapon spun fast enough to whistle as the metal cut through the air, landing with the point down. Until, that was, she swept her leg back and brought her shield up, the long weapon resting against its rim while she peered over the protective implement's edge and smiled.

"Now," she started quietly, "do we need to say any more?"

As it turned out, they didn't, and Taratog knew it as well as she did. As _easily_ and naturally as she did, rather.

With a mighty shout that, to her virgin ears, sounded like a bestial, Grimm roar, the Krogan loped forward the few steps it needed to close with her and reared a fist back. She ducked back easily, lashing out with a hand to strike the back of his armored wrist as the fist sailed through the air a few inches above her shield and before her face. To one not trained to spot her Semblance, the meaning would be missed entirely, mistakenly taken for an attempt to push his arm aside.

Evidently, he believed as much, barking a laugh and swinging the arm back, replaced with a blow aimed for her gut. Fortunately for her, his fist found her shield in the way and, though the force of a Krogan punch set her sliding across the smooth surface and sent tingles reverberating across her arm, she was well enough. Even better, she launched back at the surprised alien from her spot, leaping and turning to hurl the bronze disk for his head.

The blow struck true and, ringing, the weapon was sent reeling into the air while Taratog's head snapped back and he stumbled. Krogans were strong, but a Huntress was strong as well, and her Semblance let her accelerate her weapons to add even _more_ force to her strikes. Combined with the surprise of it, she'd off balanced the Krogan warrior well enough, and saw the opening she'd made for what it was. He did too, bright orange eye looking at her as the warrior brought a foot back to catch himself.

She didn't care, though, and launched in regardless.

Spear gripped in both hands she slammed her shoulder into his chest, trying to force him back further. This time, though, he anticipated her greater strength than should be, strictly speaking, possible for a normal Human. And so her off shoulder struck a brick wall as the alien finally recovered, teeth bared and gritting against each other as his left hand snapped back to cudgel her away. With practiced ease, fighting Ursai rather than _sparring partners_ admittedly but the same principles applied, she ducked under the blow and his arm, sinking to her knees and using her Semblance to spin herself by the metal of her greves and pulled around him.

Rising fluidly and easily, she thrust the point of her spear into the back of his calf muscle, just below the knee where she hoped for softer flesh than his hardened hide was elsewhere. She only penetrated a half-inch, but when she withdrew she saw blood flow and nodded in satisfaction. Pulling the weapon back in one hand, she reached out with the other to tag his armored thigh and stepped back and away from him, off to the side, to dodge a sweeping, clubbing blow aimed for her head. Turning on her heel, she recalled her shield on instinct and turned to him, raising the weapon warily.

The blue wreathed fist that slammed home, though, did so with _ludicrously_ more force than she'd expected. Her guard bucked, her Aura flared, and she cried out in surprise and pain as she was hurled bodily across the platform. Her back struck a metal pole, being used to anchor the fencing, and dented it from the force of it all. For only a moment, she was stunned, weapons and arms limp at her side while her ears rang and she fought for breath.

It was all Taratog needed, grabbing her by the throat and turning, again wreathed in blue as he hurled her once more across the room and away from her weapons. Even if he didn't know of her Aura, the goal was obvious, and her lucid mind pulled it to the fore readily. To separate her from her weapons and come to finish the job, either by killing her or breaking her beneath his boots until Aria was satisfied. Assuming Aria _could be_ satisfied, of course, that same lucidity pitched for her.

Her _irrational_ mind, though, pointed out that her back ached now but that she could breathe again, Aura having dampened the second blow with the few seconds of warning she'd had to do so.

'_Left thigh, right hand. Biotics are a problem, though… Need to wait for the perfect moment, and do this right.'_ She thought to herself as she staggered up and watched Taratog approaching, lumbering forward with hard eyes, blue wreathed fists curled at his sides. But, she noticed, he was smiling.

And she was too.

And that struck her as kind of odd, for the split second she considered it.

The first blow crackled over head as she knelt, the Biotic power ripping apart the chain and sending a hunk of the piping she'd dented across the room outside the arena as she did. Shouting her defiance, she rose and pelted a blow into his stomach ineffectually, followed by a dozen more rapid, weak, useless strikes across his chest and stomach. As many as she could get out, before his other arm snapped around into her stomach and launched her up, presumably into the air. She went with the momentum and leapt, even as she cried out and her breath was stolen yet again, to gain as much space as she could to go for her weapons.

Taratog, though, was too fast and too smart to allow that. His meaty right arm snapped out like lightning, far faster than she'd though _possible_ really, to latch around her ankle. The same ankle that, two months and change prior, Cinder had crippled with an arrow. He didn't break the limb though, turning and instead slamming her into the ground hard enough the steel shrieked and cracked, and she _bounced_ off it. She landed on her side and curled up, arms guarding her midsection as a mighty boot slammed into the limbs and sent her sailing and sprawling through the air.

When she hit the ground, she rolled and lay, groaning, while the Krogan called out, "No one could get up from that, T'Loak. Call the fight, unless you want her dead."

"How disappointing." She heard Aria's voice, augmented by the speaker system around them, growl. "Very well, then, it seems our fun is- Oh my."

Grunting, she brought her leg up under herself and stood, Aura assuaging what it could of her bruises while her shield hand came up to wipe at her mouth. When she looked at it, she saw blood and heard the Krogan call out, "Don't do it, girl. I don't _want_ to kill you, you have a quad big enough a warlord could get jealous."

"I certainly hope you are joking, Tog, because I have plenty left in the tank." With a flick of her wrist, and most of the last of her Aura, she called her weapons to her and smiled through bloody teeth. "I'm still standing, I'm still fighting, the Mistralian way."

"Hah…" Without another word, the Krogan charged, bellowing his fury and, from his face, _admiration_ as he went.

In answer, she spun and hurled her shield with all the power she could muster, sending it sailing towards him and to the side, as though it would miss. He knew it, too, eyes sliding from it to her as her trap was sprung. Using her Semblance she suddenly, _violently_ yanked every individual plate of armor on his chest to the side along with his right arm, just as his right leg came up so that the metal she'd tagged _there_ made him sink to a knee in surprise. The shield, now on track, struck his crest head on and he snarled in pain as she leapt high and hurled the spear down, the shield clattering away behind him as blood flowed cross the scar of the thin plating of his forehead.

WIth a wet, hollow thunk it slammed into his shoulder and her roared, just before her knee met his sternum with all the force of a Huntress' fall augmented by her Semblance. Without hesitation, she spent her Aura to call her spear to her and flicked a button, shifting it to rifle form and trying to bring it to his crest.

One point three seconds was how long it took to shift between forms, and that went to one and a half from rifle to spear. A marginal amount of time, she'd been told.

But enough for his fist to lash out, this time lacking the blue energy, and catch her across the jaw hard enough she was sent reeling. She landed on her back and he followed as fast as he could, the woman rising as his boot lashed out and caught her square in the forehead, stunning her and ripping a gash in her flesh as she was slammed back into the ground. Stunned or not she snarled and rolled to the side, just in time to dodge a stomp that crushed the metal plating where her leg had been a moment ago.

Another meaty punch caught her stomach and then, this one glowing electric blue, yet another caught her square across the jaw and sent her reeling back.

"Fall down, before you die, girl." The Krogan ordered as she, through force of will alone, stayed standing, listing to one side and staring at him through one eye. The other's sight was lost to red blood, she knew.

Turning, she spat the blood pooled in her mouth free and spoke, tasting iron, "M' still standin', aren' I?"

"Yeah, you are." The Krogan growled, lumbering towards her and shaking his head. When he stepped close enough, she lashed out, aiming a punch for his throat that did nothing. He caught her by the wrist, then, and slammed his forehead into hers once and then twice, coming back with her own blood rolling down his face.

The last thing she saw was his curt, respectful nod, before she saw the room flash by and felt her back hit cold steel. Distantly, she heard chuckling and felt something, like an echo of power or energy, before it faded away and she knew nothing but the bliss of unconsciousness.

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

Pyrrha's eyes shot open a half-second later and she hissed at the bright, blinding light around her, recoiling and scrambling back a couple inches with her arm over her eyes. Inside a short moment she noticed a laundry list of things, not the least of which was the lack of aches across her body. A body that _should_ have been battered and bruised, not to mention bleeding at least to some extent, even if she'd been out for a while.

Like her wounds, she noticed quickly, she couldn't actually sense any _pain_ from the sudden brightness around her, having reacted on sheer instinct to it when her eyes snapped open and she saw it. Along with a familiar warmth that had her frown at the recognition, she felt a thin sheen of water on the ground around her and sighed. She'd been here once before, now she had a moment to collect herself.

And so, with a grimace, she forced her eyes open and looked up at the eerie smile of the purple God of Darkness, standing with hands clasped behind his back and leering down at her with a grin. "Why, hello again, young Nikos. I must say, you put on quite a good show for that blue little wannabe deity, didn't you?"

"Am I dead?" She blurted when she tried to respond, flushing and grimacing as she sat up, legs folded under herself while she stared up at the deity. "Did I die already again? I should have been able to absorb that kind of-"

"Oh, no, no, not dead. My, you mortals have such a deep seated, carnal fear of time's march, don't you?" The deity answered, actually chuckling at the glare she shot him and waving a hand dismissively. "Do not pout, child, you will be well when I release you. Sore, but alive at the least. Be grateful."

"I am." And she really was, too, for a second chance at life. Though that brought forth a question, "Why am I here then, Lord? What is it that you could desire of me?"

"I wanted to see how long you would take to notice if I brought you here naked."

"Naked…?" She glanced down and blinked, her bare breasts and legs standing out plain as day, and then shrieked loudly in surprise and embarrassment. Trying to cover herself as best she could, she shouted, "Why?! Are you a pervert? Do you even _have_ sexual arousal? Or is this to be cruel and nothing else?"

"In order, I suppose." The deity shrugged, holding up a hand and counting out answers. "I thought it would be amusing, and it was. I don't rightly know, actually. Would you like to find out if I _can_ get aroused? And I'm not cruel to you, and have no wish to be."

"I'm not interested in that, no. But, ah, well… Thank you, I suppose?" The last response _or_ the one before it, she answered both. And regardless of the deity's unsurety about being a pervert, she still kept her legs tucked in front of her to hide her chest and her hands under her things to hide what was there. "Could you… Maybe make me some clothing, though?"

"I suppose…" The creature laughed when her scowl deepened and snapped its fingers, a simple robe appearing on her body at the gesture. Not wreathing her shoulders, or pooled around her so she could get dressed, but rather on her as though she'd awoken wearing it. "Forgive my games, my dear, I do let them get away from me from time to time. Never again claim cruelty in my nature or actions, or I will lose my patience."

"I understand, Lord." She nodded, swallowing anxiously at the severity that edged his jovial tone at the words. Afraid on a baser level than she understood, she bowed her head and went on. "I apologize for hurting your feelings, God of Darkness. I meant no offense in my words, I only sought to know better your will."

"Raise your head, girl. If I wanted a groveling servant, I would have either created one myself or I would take a more spiritual, submissive woman than you from your realm." When she finally raised her head and met his eyes, the deity folded its great, black arms across its flawless chest and sighed. "As to why I brought you here… I come with a warning."

"A warning?"

"Yes, like some of the religions of both your old world and your new one." He spread his arms grandly and raised his horned head to the sky, affecting an air of regal, divine authority and crowed. "Your god brings you a warning of the future, child! Thank him!"

"Uh, ah- Thank you, Lord." It seemed to have the desired result, the being nodding in response and letting his arms fall, watching her for a long moment. Waiting for something. Finally, Pyrrha blinked and guessed at his desire, asking, "What, Lord of Darkness, is the warning you bring?"

"Sharp eyes watch you, and while they pose no hazard to you as you lay, they do for your friend. These eyes could be friend or foe, or deceased, in the future I don't know. The end is fate, and to your will does it bend." She blinked in confusion, mouth working at words to ask what it meant, and the deity shifted course suddenly and explained. "Not my rules, sweetheart. Rules agreed upon by my brother and I, so I have to speak in riddles. Rhyming ones too, preferably, though I am… Not so good at those."

"I thought it was rather nice." She tried gently, smiling sympathetically at him. "I was always poor at them as well, in my education."

"Appreciate the kind words, but my rhymes were trash and I know it." He shrugged and sighed, then, finishing with, "But that's why I brought you here. Aside from my little joke, and pointing out how spectacularly fun that fight of yours was to watch. With that, I'll send you back to your-"

"Wait!" She barked, the deity pausing, hand held up to snap again and with wide, surprised eyes. Swallowing her anxiety and worry, she stood and stared up at him, grimacing before finally forcing out the question. "These… Rules you mention… Between your brother and you, I mean."

"Yes?"

"You can never break them?"

"I _can_, but I will not. I am no cruel deity, and I am even _less so_ a being who breaks his word." The deity responded, letting its arm drop after a second.

Not for fatigue, she was sure, all of its affectations were like that. Stiff, late, as though the being only registered he should do or move in a way just after the time it should have. An _honest_ perverted god of darkness and evilness, then, she supposed. Good. Confusing, but good.

"Then, since you keep your word…" She let her hands curl into fists beside her at her side and forced the words out, as she always had to around the being. As though its mere _presence_ pressured her into meekness and fear, somehow. "My friends. Please, will you tell me how they-"

"The blonde man is grieving at your grave-site, with your two team members. They are healthy, though aching, and seeking a way to find answers as to what happened there" The god interrupted, turning and staring off into the whiteness idly. After a moment she decided it was most likely that it was looking in on them, and somehow that spot in the whiteness allowed this. "The blonde woman who lost her arm is having breakfast with her sister, and the Faunus is… Reading."

Well, that sounded like Blake…

"But they are well?" She asked, "And you can't give me more detail?"

"I cannot. Brother asked me not to place their burdens on your shoulders, and I keep my word." He shrugged simply, as though Pyrrha just had to accept their words as they stood. Which, she supposed, was exactly what she had to do. "They are well and recovering. Leave it be, child, as even if they aren't I would simply refuse your question outright."

"I do!" The god sighed but nodded, gesturing with a hand for her to speak, and she asked, "You say you are bound by agreed upon rules. What are they? I would hate to ever ask for one and insult you, or impugn your honor."

"A reasonable question…" The god sighed regardless, though, like he was annoyed she'd asked at all. "It's rather simple, really. I can't send you back to your own realm of existence, nor can I bring those there to you. And I can't give you anything, aside from witty banter and snide comments."

"Could do without those…"

"Pray about it, see what I decide." The deity laughed when she scowled and shook his great, horned head. "Now then, unless you have more, it is time we part ways." The deity asked, raising his hand again.

When she heard the snap of his fingers, she blinked, looking up through one eye at a purple ceiling made of surprisingly clean metal and lit by hanging purple lights.

Oh, and _everything_ hurt across her body, which was a wonderful thing to discover.

"Oh, you're awake? How good." Through force of will, she turned her head, spotting Aria sitting across the room from her in a fine metal chair backed in leather, with one leg crossed over her knee. Smiling, the woman asked, "How do you feel after being beaten into unconsciousness by a Krogan? Asking for a friend, I'm sure you understand."

"It feels like I was blown up…" She coughed and already felt herself wishing the God had healed her injuries, even if she knew he wasn't allowed to. Giving her healed ribs was probably against the rules, after all. "I thought the loser was to be banned from Omega, Aria."

"My, how daring of you, using my first name so flippantly." She scowled and Aria barked a short, elegant and yet also cutting laugh. Standing, Aria stretched languidly and walked towards her, the Mistralian struggling to sit up on the bed until the alien cut in. "Don't, kiddo. You try and move, and you might hurt yourself more than you already are. Even _if_ Solus says you're healing remarkably fast."

"Solus?"

"A doctor here on Omega. Very good, very expensive too." She shrugged and watched Pyrrha lay back on the bed with a grimace, chuckling herself. A flick of blue, Biotic fire that Pyrrha now recognized more fully, she yanked the chair across the room to her and dropped into it as it landed. Sitting at the foot of her bed, she crossed her arms and asked, "Now, how did you survive those hits?"

"Luck." She lied gently, hissing as she shifted on the bed. "And I am yet to be convinced I survived, as I feel I am dying."

"Mhm. And I'm just a well dressed Human, too, instead of the Queen I am." Aria nodded, eyes narrowing dangerously, but Pyrrha met her gaze head on and held it. One eyed or not, she stared the Queen of Omega down, meeting her challenge with her own and raising her chin defiantly to it. Smiling, or baring her teeth it was hard to tell, Aria snorted a laugh. "My, but you are _interesting_ now. Traveling with a Geth, surviving a Krogan Biotic beat down, and then staring me down in my own bed!"

"Your bed…?" No wonder it was so clean, then. Aria probably had a complex all to herself, really, and probably had her staff keep it cleaned for her in a way Pyrrha's squat hovel couldn't ever hope to be. "Why am I in your bed? Where is Legion?"

"Because I want you to be, and needed a safe place for Solus to work on you. Besides the fact that on Omega, I _always_ get what I want. Someone in my bed, someone out an _airlock_, it's all the same to me." She answered the first swiftly and breezily, as though it were so obvious. Which, in a way, it probably was usually. "Relax, Little Red, I won't do anything to you here. I just wanted you alive, and to talk."

"Where's Legion?" She repeated simply, jaw set in spite of the bruise protesting the action. "I won't talk until you answer me, Aria. If I answer your questions at all, that is."

"Outside the door, probably. It's been standing there for five hours, now, stock still and not moving with its rifle across its chest. So loyal… I kind of want a Geth of my own." Pyrrha didn't bother pointing out how unlikely that was, or that Legion wasn't _her_ Geth. Smiling, the Asari stood and turned as though to leave, "And you will answer my questions eventually, Nikos."

"I will?"

"Everything comes to me eventually." She smiled, moving towards the door and finishing, "Rest up here for the day. I will ask you my questions when you feel more… Agreeable."

What that meant, Pyrrha would have to wait and find out, as Aria's door opened and closed without another word. A moment later, Legion stepped through it, standing beside the bed and giving her a simple, "Hello."

"Hello, Legion."

"You are not dead." It observed plainly, "This pleases us. We politely request you not engage Krogan warriors in melee combat any further."

She snorted a laugh, and swiftly began to regret that decision, coughing while the machine watched and, presumably, monitored her. Settling down, she let her good eye close and relaxed, knowing she was safe with her machine companion at her shoulder. A better rest, to say the least, than one accompanied by a god's nagging and cruel jokes.

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

_**Zammy : **_

**Who said there **_**are**_ **gods in the Mass Effect world? Though I like and may adopt your side project idea. **

_**Knightwolf1875 :**_

**Thank you~! It's a Supporter Request from someone, so it's their idea.**

_**The Prime Cronos :**_

**The Geth's combat algorithms are not directly enhanced by communication with organics, but rather seem to be based around observing them. How they fight and move, how they think, that sort of stuff. So talking to Pyrrha wouldn't quite be useful for combat reasons, though seeing her fight may give them ideas.**

**End of the day, there **_**are**_ **no other Huntresses for him to apply studying her to. And even were there, he'd not be able to apply knowledge of Pyrrha's techniques to, say, Yang. Too different.**

_**Mrendinoemiliano :**_

**Glad you're enjoying it~!**


	6. Chapter 6

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

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_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

"So, Doctor Solus, I trust you are finding everything is well and acceptable?" Pyrrha sighed when, two days later, the Salarian Aria had called on came by and did its scans. The alien's bright eyes flicked to hers and its pacing paused for a moment but it didn't answer and she frowned, "I would… I would very much like to return home, you understand. And Aria said she wouldn't let me leave until I was healed, so as to avoid anyone coming after me for whatever reason."

"Reasonable. Krogan likely to be angry you survived. May feel the fight was staged, or be insulted for some other reason. Krogan tend to be… Irrational in that way." The alien answered simply, moving across the well made and ornately decorated room to her and scanning her where she sat on the edge of the bed. "And your wounds are… Remarkable."

"Is that good, or…?"

"When I saw you for the first time, you were unconscious. Bleeding internally. Orbital fractures on your right side. A fractured forearm. Broken ribs. Hemorrhaging." The alien rattled on, listing the numerous other breakages, bruises, bleedings and sufferings she'd withstood. Suddenly, the Salarian rounded on her, face close enough she could smell him even over the perfumes Aria suffused her room with. "You should be dead. No Human can go fist to fist with a Krogan Warlord and survive."

"I did."

"Indeed." The alien murmured, leaning back and looking her up and down. Appraising her, like one might an interesting weapon. It was enough she frowned and met his stare with a glare of her own. "No Human could survive fighting a Krogan. Or heal from broken bones and internal bleeding in mere days."

"And yet, I have done just that." She countered, standing and forcing him to back away as she did. Raising her hand, she turned it back and around in a slow circle, letting him see each side, and asked, "Do you see scales? Metal, cybernetics, anything but my flesh and bone?"

"No…"

"Then I am a Human, even if I am… Unique compared to those you have met before." She spoke the words with a certain heat she swiftly regretted, not wishing to insult or offend the kind alien. He'd been gentle with her, and treated her wounds with a care she respected. It would be rude to turn and spit on him now. "Thank you for treating me, but… Please, don't press me on my uniqueness. I ask it of you as gently as I may."

"I see. I will respect your wishes, though I am so _curious_ about you. You are… Remarkable." Regardless, the alien's arm lit up once again and scanned her, from head to toe. The Salarian hummed, then, and turned to walk towards the door without anything beyond, "Will tell Aria that you are well enough to leave and be safe. Should you be injured again…"

"Thank you, Doctor." Doctor Solus only nodded and, after a long minute of silence while he tapped commands and inquiries into his Omni-Tool she asked, "So, is anything new on the station? Aria isn't exactly bringing me newsletters, you understand. She only really comes to grill me for questions, I know not even where she sleeps right now."

"My sector is experiencing a strange flu of some kind. Restricted to the slums, though. Lucky. Means less likely to spread across the station." But unlucky because those living there couldn't afford treatment for it. The alien sighed then and, before her eyes, seemed to age drastically as the energy in his form was sapped and his shoulders slumped. "Trying to treat. Disease… Difficult to handle. Advanced. Unique. Adaptable. Like you. Hoped your body would have answers that I could use."

"Ah."

"Blood tests came back inconclusive. As did scans. No data was useful to study." The alien assured her, as though that were enough to assuage her concerns over her privacy. Her brows rose and she flinched back at the frankness, but he seemed to miss it or, equally possibly, ignored it willfully. "Do not fret. Will do my best to treat the disease. It is odd, though."

"How so?" She asked, as much for curiosity as to simply distract herself from the fact he'd been running tests on her. What was done already was not able to be undone, after all, and so stewing would do naught for her.

"The virus is adaptable, and rapidly attenuates to any treatment I can come to. It doesn't plague Humans or Vorcha however." The alien added the last with a laced echo of worry, its fingers drumming more rapidly on its Omni-Tool. Manic energy, she supposed. "Turians, Krogan, Asari, even a Volus and two Elcor, all have fallen ill. Yet not a single Human or Vorcha."

"Salarians?" She asked, worried for the kind, eccentric man that had been caring for her. "Are they too susceptible to this… Flu?"

"Two hundred and twenty one of them confirmed as infected." He answered, "One hundred and eighteen have died already. Complications. Failures."

"Then you could-"

"I have done much harm. Will do some good. Even if it costs me." The alien shrugged and turned to give her a warm, wide smile. One with genuine, carefree warmth, too, and that surprised her more than she'd expected. "I am a doctor, after all. And it has to be me treating this. Someone else might get it wrong."

"I see. I understand, then, why you would risk so much." And she did, really, in a way she doubted he could ever hope to understand.

Doctor, Huntress, it mattered not in the face of duties. She'd faced Cinder head on, knowing the likelihood of her success - or rather, her lack thereof - in the endeavour. She'd still been best suited, albeit still poorly suited, to face the woman. And likewise, he faced something he was best suited among his peers on the station to face, even if it could easily and readily kill him to do so.

Doctor, Huntress, duty bound by the ties that bound either of them to their works.

"If only my staff would do the same." The Salarian laughed slightly at the idea and then waved her off when she looked at him curiously. Turning to her, the alien clasped his hands behind his wiry, Salarian waist and he smiled clinically. "Not important. What is important is you. And your health is good. Ready to be discharged from your… Well, from here. Able to move and fight, if need be. Suggest you avoid that."

"I always try to." As successful as that could sometimes be, that was. "Please, tell Aria, I have got to get out of this room. It may smell nicer than the station proper, but…"

"Cabin fever a common problem for Humans. Will warn Aria of possible affliction. Should see you released before you lose your mind. Though given you fought a Krogan, diagnosis may be too late." She huffed and he smiled, offered a small nod in farewell and turned to leave without another word.

She wasn't alone for long, because she never was since Legion always joined her. Stepping in, the music from Afterlife thrummed for a moment before the door closed again and sealed it away and the machine moved to its favored spot beside the door.

"Pyrrha." The Geth stated simply in its normal greeting, its flanges twitching excitedly. Or what she thought was excitedly, the machine as hard to read as ever beyond the surface. "Solus, Mordin has informed us you have been cleared of faults. We are pleased to receive this information, and look for to moving on in our inquiries."

"Inquiries?"

"Into Shepard, Commander." The machine clarified simply, adding after a second. "Due to your injuries and our protective detail, we have been unable to pursue our investigation further for some time. We look forward to continuing."

"I didn't know I'd made you have to stop…" And she felt bad for it now, even as her rational mind chimed in to remind her it would be Aria's fault for the delays. Not hers. Still, she bowed her head and said, "I'm so sorry I caused you to be slowed down… I wouldn't have wished that for anything, Legion."

"It is irrelevant now. Further, you were not at fault in any way. You fought well and survived. That is all which should matter." The machine responded, cold logic somehow warming the cold spot of guilt that had settled in her stomach. It gnawed at her all the same, of course, but she offered a small smile and nod to show she'd understood his words. "We have found no leads as of yet regarding Shepard, Commander. When you are ready, we will leave."

"Are we allowed to yet?"

"You were told to stay until cleared to leave by the doctor. We were told you could not leave until that time and agreed to it." The machine answered simply and shortly and with, dare she hear it, a strange edge to its tone. Like it was angry, almost, even though she knew it _shouldn't_ be able to feel anger the same way she'd understand it. "You are cleared now, however, and so unless you wish to stay, we may leave."

"Hand me my greaves then." She smiled, gesturing at them beside the door. The machine turned to retrieve them and she stood, reaching for her armored, leather shell to pull on over her tubetop. It held them out and she flicked her hands, the metal flying free and latching into place around her legs comfortably, and she sighed. "Oh, thank you… It feels so much better with my armor on again."

"Acknowledged." The machine offered cheekily, turning and reaching down to retrieve her shield and spear from where they'd been leaning beside the door. Those, too, she called to herself with her Semblance and held comfortably in her hands. "We are ready, then?"

"Yes." She nodded, "On to the next step then, Legion. Tell me the plan, point my spear where it needs to be, and we shall get back to your quest."

"We must return to our ship, and head to the Omega Four Relay. Though your spear is unimportant for the job to hand." The machine explained, turning to open the door and holding it for her, and speaking louder for the heady thrum of music that coursed through Afterlife like a heartbeat. "We have been offered information on what happened to Shepard, Commander's remains post mortem in exchange for a deep scan of the Relay."

"I thought you didn't have a lead?"

"We did not, until a moment ago." The machine answered, "Aria T'Loak sent the request and offer. It seems she was waiting until you recovered to do so."

"Ah. I… I see, then." That didn't bode well, really. It felt all kinds of edged and laced with danger, like leaping into a cave with no light and the echoes of Grimm around you. But like that, it was her duty to leap into this as it would have been a dark cave. And so she sighed, took a breath and nodded, "Well, let's get this done with, then. So we might move on and keep moving forward."

"Acknowledged." The machine responded in its typical, monotone way as it lead her down into the club and around the outskirts. So they could leave without being heckled terribly much, she figured, familiar with the tactic from her time on the tournament circuit.

A reminder of days that were at once worse and better than now, but she put the thoughts away to move on.

Sailing out of Omega to scan the Omega Four Relay turned out to be a milk run in every sense of the word short of the actual milk involved. People watched her and talked amongst themselves about her, she could tell from the lingering looks and how they fell silent if she looked their way that she was the topic, but the guards didn't hinder her. They did report her, of course, though she expected as much and then some from the self-proclaimed Queen of Omega. Nothing happened on this station, after all, that she didn't know about. It was a fact she often proclaimed, in her short visits to probe Pyrrha for information.

Information she never got, of course, but information Aria was still after regardless.

"Aria T'Loak is likely pressing contacts on the station for information about you. It is even possible that she intends to trade deep scans of the Relay for it, but there is no data available to fully validate that hypothesis. Behavioral information validates that she is looking into your history, however." The machine responded when, sitting on the floor outside its cockpit and twirling her spear in her hand, she told him about her worries. "Are you afraid of her attentions? If so, we will depart for another location."

"I am." She nodded, "Are these other locations able to provide you with the same chance of furthering your mission, though?"

"...Negative." The machine finally responded quietly. "The Terminus Systems are the only place we can easily move. And in it, Omega is the singular best location for information gathering due to Aria T'Loak's presence."

"She's an information monger?"

"Affirmative." The machine responded as the ship moved around the warm, glowing relay she couldn't see. "She uses the information to manipulate other, smaller groups. As well as to maintain a balance between the larger factions in the region. This prevents conflict and offers her advantages over all involved."

"Sensible." Albeit nothing she would have a penchant or proclivity for, she was sure. She preferred to be more direct, more open and frontal, than that in her everyday life. "And you need her. So I shall have to face and control my fears."

"We believe you would be adept at this, given your history." The machine responded by way of a compliment, or at least what it could manage of one with its own conditions. She knew it was trying though and smiled thankfully at the words for his effort. "But we would not think to force you. It is your decision. We will respect and follow it, whatever you decide."

"I believe I have already explained that I will be staying with you, Legion." She chided ever so gently, the machine's flanges whirring and clicking in reaction. A Geth version of a blush, perhaps, or something along those lines? "You needn't continue checking to make sure I am happy. I am a grown woman, and a Huntress besides. I will inform you should my needs not be met in any way."

"...Acknowledged." The machine answered simply, thoroughly satisfied with her response. Or maybe cowed unintentionally, the machine's emotiveness was not what it could be and she couldn't always tell for sure what it felt. "We are completing the final turn of our pass around the Omega Four Relay and will shortly turn for home."

"Acknowledged." She quipped playfully, "Was there anything unique in the scans? Anything that your people would find worth in?"

"Affirmative." It answered, explaining for her benefit and to satisfy the curiosity it would know she had by now. "The Omega Four Relay is broadcasting a signal in intermittent intervals of ten seconds. The signals burst for eight seconds, meaning a latency interval of two in each signal burst. Likely a point where the Collectors who use this broadcast an access signal in order to Relay."

"You said normal relays had to have a signal sent to do that, too." She murmured, loud enough the machine could hear her but not much else. "Coordinates for them to aim at, if I recall rightly. Where the ship wishes to be."

"Indeed, and the Omega Four Relay does as well. But this blockage is not present at other Relays. Also there is… Something else." The machine didn't elaborate though, and she assumed it was because there wasn't anything it could tell about whatever else was there. If there had been, she knew he'd have explained it to her. "We have completed our task and will return to Omega now. Unless you are-"

"Ask if I wish to depart again and I shall smack you with your rifle." She threatened with a laugh, the machine whirring quietly.

"Acknowledged." Was all it said, adding after a quiet, contemplating moment, "Broadcast of data to Geth collective is completed. We are returning now."

It took them fifteen minutes before the Geth ship shuddered around them in the now familiar sound and sensation of docking. Unfortunately for her, it was still a rather nerve wracking experience despite how many times she'd gone through it, and she'd been told that meant she'd likely never adapt. But regardless of the anxiety she felt, she felt that she handled it well enough. The airlock hissed, though, and pulled her from her own thoughts as she moved forward to open it for them.

"Wait, Pyrrha." Legion suddenly said, a hand on her arm before she could touch it. Its flanges flicked and clicked, expanding and contracting rapidly and then going still. "There is currently someone within our apartment. Turian heat signature. Standing still, beside the entrance out of the ship and into our assigned quarters."

"Aria?" Or one of her people, at least, though she was sure the machine understood her question without her explaining it.

"No data available. We detect Mass Effect signature concurrent with personal shielding and armor, as well as weaponry." The Geth explained, stepping back and letting her, the more durable of the two, take the fore. An act that she knew he didn't like, even if Legion still did it for being the more rational thing to do. "It is likely they mean to speak with us, not attack us immediately."

"Why do you say that?" A surprise like this screamed murder to her, but she knew that Legion knew this world better than her.

"If he wanted to eliminate us, planting bombs would be the surest method. Your durability is known, waiting for us to return is an unintelligent and irrational course of action." The machine explained simply, drawing its Predator and checking its magazine as it did. The action was almost anathema to the words he said while doing it, but she let it go. Satisfied, it collapsed the weapon and stated simply, "Possible negotiation is what we hypothesise to be the goal here."

"What do you want to do?"

"Negotiate." The machine nodded simply, gesturing at the airlock. "When prepared, please open the airlock and proceed. We will follow."

"Very well." She sighed and moved her shield to her arm, one of many places she'd been seen carrying it. Hopefully that would mean the alien waiting for them wouldn't take it as a threat but if it did, well… It _was_ a shield. "I'm opening it with my Semblance, just in case there is something waiting for us your sensors couldn't detect."

"Acknowledged."

The hatch groaned as she opened it on the Omega side, loud and grating steel on steel as always when she opened the section that let them into their quarters. Inside, the room was dark, which was itself not unusual. What meagre items they had, mainly crates stacked along the far wall and full of supplies Legion had been stocking up on but hadn't loaded onto the ship, hadn't been touched or moved in any way. Regardless, she knew that there was someone there, trusting Legion's sensors completely. And so when she stepped through and to the side, as though to head towards the door out into Omega proper, she was unsurprised when she felt the barrel of a small sidearm press against the base of her skull.

"Either of you move, and the walls get a nice coat of fresh, red paint." The Turian voice flanged threateningly as Legion stepped into the room. Turning, she got a look at the alien, who wore a silver and blue helmet with dark tinted glass for a visor. "Weapons go back through the hatch, seal the hatch shut behind 'em, then sit on the crates, Tin Man. I know you care about the girl, my contacts say you played bodyguard the whole time she was on the mend after the fight."

"Acknowledged." The machine gave her a look and, at the shake of her head, turned and threw its weapons into the hatch. It clanged shut and the Geth asked, "Shall I turn on the lighting?"

"Nah, we're good. I can see just fine." The alien answered quietly, much to her displeasure, though she would never show it. The room was still lit up well enough to make out most things, corner lights burning an omnipresent, muted orange, but it was a disadvantage. Once Legion sat on the crate the alien grunted, "On your knees and pitch the shield away or-"

She was moving before he finished the sentence, her head snapping back as she spun and the Turian fired a point blank round into her forehead so close she _felt_ the heat from it. Aura sparked and her hand lashed out, palm slapping his chest and then both hands lashing out to backhand its arms like she was trying to open his guard. He reacted as she'd expected, swearing and lashing out with a boot that connected with her stomach and forced her back, and she smiled even as he stepped away and raised the weapon.

"Don't- Agh!" With a flex of her Aura and her arms spread before her, she sent her Semblance to work and pinned him to the wall, the foot that had kicked her and his two arms outstretched where she hung him. The other leg kicked at the floor and he looked between his arms, "What in the name of the Spirits…?"

"We would negotiate with you now, Turian." Legion remarked dryly, having not moved even an inch from the seat he had been commanded to take in the few seconds it had taken for her to pin the alien. "Starting with your name is common among Organics. We are Legion, a terminal of the Geth. This is our companion, Pyrrha Nikos."

"...Archangel." The alien answered quietly after a long minute spent struggling uselessly against her Semblance while she straightened and watched him. Seemingly resigned, he quipped, "So, I'd say we got off on the wrong foot, but, ah… I can't move one of my feet so it would feel a bit on the nose to."

"What kind of name is Archangel?" She asked quietly, as much to Legion as to the Turian. She didn't know the naming convention of this world after all, and so had to check with the machine before she made a misstep.

"The secret, pseudonim kind." The alien snarked back at her, "What kind of Biotics don't glow and work at point blank range? And resist special rounds _made_ to fight Biotic barriers?"

"...The secret kind." The alien cocked its head at her and she murmured a short, "Touche. Why were you waiting for us, Archangel?"

"Wanted to see what kind of woman can throw down with a Krogan. And what kind travels with one of those." The Turian nodded to her companion and shrugged as best it could, unable to move its arms properly and so turning it into a pathetic little facsimile of one. "Turns out, the answer is 'terrifying and bullshit'. Who knew?"

Neither of them answered the question and, anxious, the Turian asked, "So… Negotiation?"

"Negotiation." The Geth confirmed, finally standing and moving to the pinned alien. Looking it up and then down, the machine added quietly, "We have just scanned you. Your biometrics match a Turian in registry to the Citadel. Citadel Security, Second Arm, Ward Detective, Vakarian, Garrus. Former squadmate of Shepard Commander. Is this correct?"

"One, how did you get that information?" The Geth didn't answer, of course, not about to sell out whatever informant he'd bought it from or expose any hacking avenues it had taken. And so a moment later, the Turian sighed and nodded, "Yeah, fine, I'm him. Why do you care? Are you hunting her? Because if so, got some bad news for you."

"Negative." The machine answered, "The Geth Collective suspect she is alive due to mounting data on the matter. We wish to make contact with her in the hopes of preparing to face the Old Machines alongside the Organics of the galaxy."

"...Huh." The Turian considered the Geth for a long moment and finally said. "I can't help you pinned to the wall, Geth, so-"

"Legion." It interrupted, explaining before the Turian could ask. "Our designation is Legion. It was given to us by the first Organic to cooperate peacefully with Geth since the Morning War. We ask that you use it."

"Sorry?"

"Further, you attempted to kill my companion. You will stay pinned to this wall until such a time as we both are satisfied by your answers." The machine sounded oddly heated as it spoke, now. A unique state given the machine's relative inability to convey emotions, and enough that her brows rose for it. "Currently, we seek methods to contact one Liara T'Soni. She has thus far been difficult to find, beyond her presence in and around Ilium, where we do not dare to go."

"Why?"

"If Shepard, Commander lives, then she is in danger." The machine responded simply, "We wish to rescue her in that scenario. You are a friend to Liara T'Soni. We must ask for your cooperation, so we may contact her and attempt to rescue the Commander."

"...Who'd have thought it, a Geth wanting to save Commander Shepard." The alien murmured, talking more to itself and then falling silent for a long moment. Thinking, she assumed, waiting patiently alongside her companion while it did. Finally, the alien sighed and nodded, "Fine. I'll send a message to her if, uh, if you'll let me down?"

"...Very well." The machine nodded, giving its companion a nod. Shield raised warily, she stepped in between the two of them and let the Turian fall. It landed steadier than she'd expected and Legion asked, "You will cooperate with us willingly?"

"Yeah, I will." He sighed, shaking his helmeted head and sighing. "But only because you said she might be alive. I don't trust a Geth as far as I can throw one, but…" The alien sighed again, this time sounding tired and resigned again, "But if there's a half a chance she's alive, I'll work with you."

"Acknowledged." The machine answered, "Please, proceed to message Liara T'Soni."

"I… Have to head to base first, actually." He answered quietly, rolling his shoulders to stretch and explaining, "I have a special terminal she sent to me there. Encrypted. If I'm asking this kind of stuff, I want it secure."

"...Acknowledged." Legion answered quietly, "We will follow."

It said it as a fact but turned to her regardless, as though asking her consent for the idea. She gave it readily and nodded, not knowing enough about any of this to argue, and the Turian brushed between them, "Let's go then. I had check-in two minutes ago, so unless you want a Krogan coming looking for me, we need to head out."

"Krogan are no threat." Legion responded quietly, "Pyrrha is able to engage them in melee combat with a seventy-eight percent chance of success. With this unit's intervention, that rises to an estimated ninety-three percentage success rate."

The Turian only groaned, paused by the door to bang its head against the wall, and murmured, "Spirits take me, this is not what I wanted to do today…"

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

_**Henri :**_

**Back with more now, thanks to my commissioner in the top details~!**

_**Red Shirt :**_

**I would argue she's less arrogant, and more confident. Like, she knows what she can do, and **_**loves**_ **a good fight. But yeah, there is a touch of haughtiness and rigidity to her post death. Because, you know, dying. It don't just tickle.**

_**Dr. Killinger :**_

**Pyrrha is strongk. Krogan warlord with centuries of experience and Biotics is stongker. If only just.**

_**The Prime Cronos :**_

**I intend for her to, don't worry~!**


	7. Chapter 7

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

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"Wait here, Legion." Pyrrha ordered her machine companion when Garrus stepped through the threshold of their door and outside.

Or, well, as _outside_ as anything on a space station could really ever be called.

Regardless, and her Aura at the ready, she stepped through and looked around the door for other waiting persons, or traps, or… Whatever, before calling back over her shoulder. "Seems clear to me, Legion. Run a scan?"

"Passive scans are negative for standard signatures on explosives or cloaking devices." The machine noted as it joined her and their helmeted Turian guide. Who leaned against the wall quietly opposite their door with his arms crossed and head cocked to the side. "Passive scans match previous passive scans. Active scans also match previous active scans. It is unlikely that a Turian on Omega would be able to trick our sensor systems when he already failed to do so once. We doubt the presence of a trap."

"When did I-"

"We detected your presence in our quarters from inside our ship." The Geth informed him, head cocked to the side almost condescendingly. Or maybe she was just projecting, she supposed, since _she_ was feeling rather unfriendly to him. "As such, you either failed to consider countermeasures, or those countermeasures failed."

"Okay, wll, if I was going to kill you, I'd have done it in there. Less witnesses." She gave him a look and a smile, spinning her blade on the top of her palm, and the Turian looked pointedly away. With an awkward cough, the Turian amended, "Or, well, you know, that would be the _plan_. But what with you ignoring basic laws of _physics_, apparently, I guess that wouldn't work out all that well."

"Such a plan would very much fail against me, in all likelihood." She smiled, the Turian giving her a look over his shoulder for it. Gauging her, she guessed, or the space between herself and Legion trailing behind her. She put herself between them regardless and asked, "So, why introduce yourself as Arc-"

"Don't say that name out loud, _or_ casually." The Turian hissed the words but didn't round on her or spin on his heel to look around the wide walkway they were on. Nor did he glance to the disparate smatterings of people coming and going, backs bowed or not, from or to work. Instead he walked straight on, and explained quietly as he weaved wide around anyone in their way. "Call me Vakarian, or Garrus. We use code designations for a reason."

"Vakarian, then." His first name sounded far too familiar to her, given they'd met at the end of his gun. "Why use your other name if not for us to use it in turn?"

"Because if I was going to press you for information on big bitch number one, I didn't want you to know my name. For a laundry list of obvious reasons." He waved a hand at the station, then, and down at the lower segments spanning far below them and made a shape with his talons. It was gone before she could look at it for more than a moment, and he grunted, "Now you won't get shot."

"A-Ah." A signal to someone, somewhere, watching then. Se gave the area around them a look, but they'd long since reached the outside of their spire. Behind them, the path split off several yards back and left nothing wide, open air between their spire and distant sections of Omega.

"Don't bother looking, my partner is a Turian and a marksman like me." The alien grunted, coming to a stop where the rusted railing had long since given way and tumbled off down the station. With a hand, he repeated the gesture, talons forming a letter she didn't recognize and then flashing two digits out before he let the hand drop. "The gesture was a signal to come and get myself and friendlies times two. He'll be here in a shuttle inside a minute or so, we just have to chill out and-"

"Turian!" A booming voice bellowed from behind them as lumbering, heavy footsteps sounded. "This is Blood Pack turf, no damn Turians allowed!

A Krogan hand, heavy and meaty and armored in red, grabbed her shoulder and shoved her to the side hard enough she might have fallen. Legion's own hand grabbed her upper arm and tugged her upright easily, other grabbing its sidearm and drawing it in one smooth motion. He didn't point the weapon at anyone, though, its blocky shape hanging at its side instead in a clear threat.

"I didn't-"

"Didn't what, you tin plated bastard?" The Krogan snarled, rumbling towards the Turian steadily and wholly ignoring them. Hissing, Garrus' hand snapped up, his own blocky little pistol swinging around to snap off a shot. It glanced off heavy, red Krogan armor and the victim roared, grabbing his hand in his own meaty paw and crushing the pistol and fingers both. "Nice try, but pack something better for a- Hrk!"

"Let him go." Pyrrha ordered coolly, kneeling under his bulk and glaring death at him, her spear-tip pressing into his throat hard enough to draw blood.

"You're the bitch that-"

"Fought a Krogan Warlord with Biotic powers, and kept getting up no matter how many times he hit me?" She offered, smiling coolly in spite of the tremor of fear she felt run through her. And revulsion, too, when the Krogan's blood trickled down to touch her fingers. "Yes, I am she. And I doubt you are nearly the Krogan, or _Biotic_, that he was. So I doubt you wish to try your luck with a petty vendetta such as this."

"Or what, you'll cut my throat?" The Krogan laughed at her nod and leaned down, pressing its throat further onto the blade heedless of the extra blood and inch of metal in his flesh. "It'll heal, Human. But your head won't when I pop it like a ripe melon in my hands."

"We will not allow that." Legion chimed in calmly, stepping to its side and pressing its weapon into the expanse of tissue just under its crest and before its nose. "Krogan skeletal structure is weak in four locations. The sides of the crest and the base, just above the nasal cavity, are three. This weapon is chambered to fire rounds of sufficient size to punch through the bone and into the stem of your brain."

"Killed plenty of Krogan out here in the Terminus to say for fact, you don't grow a brain stem back." Garrus offered sharply as well, the whine of an engine sidling up to them her only tell for what he said next, her own eyes locked on the Krogan's shoulders and watching for an action. "And hey, my ride's here. So how about you say you scared us off, and we leave you behind to reap the rewards of that?"

"You frightened off a Geth, a Turian trespasser _and_ the woman that went toe-to-toe with a Krogan Biotic all by yourself." She prodded, a great, green eye turning to look down on her. Her brows rose and she cocked her head to the side in feigned impressness, "Now _that_ is a tale to tell. Is it not?"

"Hmph, fine." The alien huffed, letting the Turian go to step clear and turning to glare at the Geth. "I see you lot again, and I will crush you under my boot. Then I'll rip out your circuits and haul you up to the scrapyard to-"

"Acknowledged." The machine interrupted, edging around slightly to close with Pyrrha when she rose, her shield arm raised and her blade resting in the half-moon groove on its one side to strike if the Krogan made a move. "Move along, please. We would not regret killing you if you threaten our partner again. However, we would prefer not to."

"Hmph. Lucky I have places to be, Tin-Man." The Krogan didn't respond, instead lumbering away back towards the honeycombing alleys and streets, and away from the scaffolding that climbed around the hanging arcology.

"Damn… I just finished calibrating the dampening system on this earlier today." The Turian sighed, flicking his destroyed pistol off the side of the arcology and letting it fall away. Flexing and stretching his bruised talons, he turned to the opening sky-car's door and shouted to the other similarly armored Turian, "They're green as Spirit's grass, Sidonis. Clear?"

"As dark matter." The other helmeted alien responded, making a show of setting his heavy sidearm on the dash of the old, beaten down sky-car. "Hop on in, lady, robot boy and my favorite boss. We should get out of here before Frogger comes back around with some of his friends."

"Frogger…?"

"Frogger is a common Human video game popular with Human gaming traditionalists and Turian Human cultural fanatics." Legion explained when she climbed in ahead of him and let him sit beside her, Garrus sitting in the front beside his Turian friend. "Turians have a counter-culture of gaming and leisurely activities, preferring strategy and puzzle or pattern games."

"Ah."

"Yeah, Sidonis is a bit of a techhead, and Humans have some of the best games in the galaxy. So kinda natural he'd pull some random ass Human reference out of the air." Garrus laughed when the other Turian only sighed, but the sound was mostly hollow to her ears. Forced.

For _show_ she decided, with narrow eyes and a small grimace.

"Take us to headquarters, Sidonis." Garrus finally ordered, his voice firm and unyielding. Beside him, his partner turned to look at him sharply and he shrugged. "I promised them a conversation, and information from a contact I can only contact there. And besides, I don't think a _Geth_ is stupid enough to start anything at our headquarters."

"If you say so…"

With a dull whine, the sky-car tilted back and away from the inverted arcology, before shooting up and weaving around other craft and vehicles soaring the pseudo-sky. That part didn't surprise her, not really, as she was used to seeing such traffic behaviors across Omega by now. Or, well, as used to it as one _could_ be with metal bullets the size of Krogan whizzing by on occasion. Ironically, it was the mercenary bands and crime rings that kept _that_ sort of behavior under control, more or less.

Presumably, car wrecks, station damage, and fires were bad for business, so it made perfect sense to enforce some loose rule of pseudo-law on the region.

"You are Archangel, a vigilante of Omega." Legion remarked when they zoomed past Afterlife and climbed still higher, into the expanse where people like Aria and herself _lived_ at the top of the station. "Is this not a conspicuous location to have your base of operations?"

"Yeah, it is, but nowhere else on the station lets you have a complex all to yourself. And no one would ever expect a group of vigilantes to have a swanky little station mansion." Vakarian argued simply, waving a hand at the dozens of blocks of sprawling lights, walkways, walls and the like. "Up here, you have slavers, drug runners, gambling dens and the like."

"Which means we can get to their comm lines if we're clever, since we're close." Sidonis added, "And we never hit them, at least not yet, so no one would ever guess we live up here."

"Sensible, in a fashion." She supposed, even if she felt 'mansion' didn't apply to the three level complexes she was seeing them cruise around.

Though Mistralian Manors _may_ have spoiled her in that regard, and she knew that for a place like Omega, these were absolutely the pinnacle. Multi-storied, with what had to be staff and guards, real windows, she even spotted a fountain on one. She almost asked how they managed to afford a place up here, but decided rather swiftly that she probably didn't want to get too into it. Methods she didn't want to know about, as with many things, she decided.

Though in this case, it would be against slavers and the like, so she wasn't terribly fussed.

"It's not too big a place, but it does its job and it's pretty well defended." Garrus explained when the sky-car curved around the base of the arcologies and began to weave between dirty accessways for the staff housing this high up. Housing that was, sadly, only a scratch above the kind she and Legion had been given lower on the station. "Everyone should be out on jobs, so it'll be quiet."

The base was a simple thing, set across a wide gap between sections of arcology and spanned by a wide open bridge. A bridge she was willing to wager would make an excellent killing zone, if they ever came under attack. They didn't land there, though, instead curling around the outside of the building and down, into a wide hangar full of vehicles whose purpose she couldn't glean, where theirs set down and the doors lifted up and away to let them out.

"Old drug running base." Vakarian explained as he stepped past them and turned to Sidonis to offer a small nod. "Run circuit, make sure no one is following us. And check the line feeds, too, I meant to but…"

"I got it." The Turian assured him, waving a tired hand and climbing back into the sky-car. "Keep an eye on yourself, Archangel. Catch you on the other side of launch, wil probably check a few of our old safe houses."

"Stay safe."

"You know I will, boss." Sidonis waved, adding after a moment, "Trust me, just wanna pop in and check our safehouse supplies, in case we ever have to bug out."

"You two come with me." Garrus ordered tiffly, pausing by a car to retrieve a Predator idly and shrugging when she gave him a look. "What? I get on a vid-call with her, and I'm _not_ armed, and she'll assume you two took me hostage and she needs to hire Asari Huntress teams. You may have gone toe to toe with a Krogan, but Asari Huntresses? Something else."

"Your weapon would be quite ineffectual at piercing our armor regardless." Legion said simply, its flanges flicking in thought for a moment before it added. Head cocked to the side, it asserted coolly, "And our companion is more durable than us. It is a useless implement. However, if you would feel safer with it, we will not argue against you keeping it."

"Legion, behave."

"We have not done anything-"

"Behave, Legion." She reiterated, brows raised in challenge the same way she'd seen Yang do. Why it would ever work on a Geth, she had no idea, but the machine seemed to regard her for a long second.

"...Acknowledged." It finally said simply, turning back to the Turian and bobbing its head gently. "We apologize if our words caused any offense."

Garrus only sighed but waved his hand for them to follow him further into the base, where he could call Liara himself. And where they would get some sort of answers, for Legion's sake, she hoped.

Similarly silently, the two followed their Turian guide up and into his base.

"Why are you asking about such a thing, anyway?" Liara asked, her small face on the screen eyeing Legion warily behind the newly helmetless Turian. The office was a small room off the main barracks they'd set up, dark and tucked away with a large computer console in it that had a screen fixed to its side and a rolling chair in front of it. "Nothing untoward, I would hope, Garrus. Given your… Company, I hope you understand my wonder."

"Yeah, this is-"

"My name is Pyrrha Nikos, a Huntress hopeful. Though, ah, not of the Asari bent, I am afraid." She smiled at the sharp, piercing blue eyes when they rounded on her, one brow raising curiously. Somehow, even across the static laced medium of an Extranet call encrypted Dust knew how many times, those blue eyes still felt as to be piercing through her as surely as any arrow. "It's a different matter, though I don't feel we need to go into it now."

"I see." She turned to look at Garrus, then, and asked, "And why would you call me on her behalf? And using our secure, special line, not to mention."

"She went toe to toe with a Krogan warlord in melee on Aria T'Loak's orders, and a Biotic one at that, and lived through having herself beaten into the ground. A _lot_." That had those piercing blue eyes snap back to her suddenly, as though now far more interested in her than she was even in the Geth standing at her side. "Then, I shot her at point blank, and the round bounced right off like I'd flicked a rock at her. Then she pinned me to the wall somehow, and that was that."

"A Barrier and Semi-Stasis, perhaps?"

"Not a chance."

"How can you be so sure?" There was doubt there, in her voice, but not an insulting kind like Pyrrha heard so often in her youth before she'd proven herself. Instead, it was a simple curiosity, and phrased more gently.

"Geth can't be Biotics, for one. And for two, the muzzle was too close." He dismissed with a wave of his hand and a shake of his head, "Even if Geth _could_ pull a Barrier off, at that range it wouldn't have mattered."

"Interesting… I don't suppose that has anything to do with your particular kind of Huntress?" That seemed a safe _enough_ question, and so she simply nodded, and then blanched when the Asari smiled. The corners of her eyes crinkled and those blue eyes flicked across her chest and shoulders, looking over what she could see of her. "Very, very interesting indeed. A Huntress of a different kind, who can block rounds fired at ranges too close for it to be Biotics, who can trap a man against a wall, and who travels with a Geth companion. Very… Unique."

"Thank you…?" She wasn't _entirely_ sure that was a compliment, but she said it regardless. If only to smooth over relations in whatever way she could, really. "I hope you understand that I won't elaborate on it…"

"Of course not, you don't know a thing about me beyond that I'm an Asari and friends with Garrus." She smiled and added, cold and clinical, "And of the two, those of the first kind forced you into a death match with a Krogan warlord on their payroll, and the second shot you. Albeit in a way that didn't hurt you, I still understand wariness."

"O-Oh, uh, thank you, Miss T'Soni."

"Think nothing of it." She smiled, but that smile was gone before she turned her gaze on the Geth beside the young Huntress. The machine received a cold stare and a frown, but the woman's words were clear and cool when she spoke, lacking any fire.

In a way, that was worse, somehow.

"And you?" She asked simply, "What exactly are _you_ doing with a young woman? And on Omega, for that matter?"

"We are Legion, a Terminal of the Geth sent into Organic regions in search of Shepard Commander, in the interests of opposing the Old Machines." The Asari's frown turned into a scowl at that, for the briefest moment before she regained control of herself. Legion noticed, though, and went on, hoping to ease her fears. "We wish to offer information possessed by the Consensus to her, and seek her information, so we might better stand against the Old Machines and their cycle of destruction."

"The Geth _oppose_ destruction, then?"

"We do not like warrantless loss of life or potential." It answered, "Geth believe in the right to self-determination of all sentient life-forms. This belief is why we have not, as a race, gone beyond the Perseus Veil."

"Came out for Sovereign, though." Garrus challenged, rolling his chair to the side and leaning with his back towards the machine in a facsimile of standing at the woman's shoulder. "Lotta Geth came out for it, and a lot of people died for it. But you expect us to believe the Geth don't want to hurt people?"

"Those-"

"The Geth had a schism, a good while ago, when the Old Machine came." Pyrrha interrupted, hoping for their bias to let her words sell the truth more than Legion's ever could. Playing to bias had ever been a disgusting but useful thing to do, when she wished to back up a Faunus' word and force the truth to be accepted. "Some wished to serve them, others wished not to, and they were at an impasse. So they left."

"And you just allowed your members to leave?"

"They wished to leave." Legion said simply, leaving it at that as though that was all there was to it.

And really, that was all there _was_ to it, she supposed.

"I see…" Liara finally murmured, after a long pause where the Mistralian presumed both of the aliens had been waiting on… Well, more, in some manner or respect, she supposed. "And you believe that Shepard is alive?"

"We…" The machine hesitated, and that was enough for Pyrrha to shoot it a worried look. Then its fingers twitched and its flanged shifted awkwardly and quickly, in the way she knew meant he was thinking. _Considering_, he would say. Finally, its voice quiet and its light brightening, it said, "We believe it, yes."

"Why?" Garrus asked, sounding bemused in a way. "Why do you believe she's alive?"

"...No data available."

"What?"

"No data available." The machine repeated, "We have no data to support our conclusion directly, outside evidence that is barely even more than circumspect to the conclusion reached. And yet…" Its light flashed for the briefest moment to red and it turned to her sharply, voice strained as it spoke, "Nikos, Pyrrha, our systems of experiencing cascade failures. System diagnosis shows no critical malfunction. We do not understand what is-"

"You have faith that she is alive, Legion." She explained, giving the two aliens a look when she saw the Turian shift. It was hard, a glare so fierce her face ached for it, but the duo got the message and she turned to the machine with a smile. "Go and sit. Research the time, and come to the… Accurate conclusions about your belief in Shepard's survival, and how you came to that conclusion."

"Faith." The flanges twitched again and, quietly, it murmured as it turned to leave. "Belief in that which is without evidence, based solely on belief in a matter of the fact… Negative correlation, circumspect evidence present. Faith, New Webster, belief in that which is illogical based on-"

"That… Happen a lot?" Garrus asked once she shut the door behind her and the Turian stood.

One hand hovered over his sidearm at his waist, but the way he looked at her, the surprise and echoing concern there, told her it was instinct. Not threat or insult. And so, in a show of trust, she flicked her arms and sent her blade and shield to rest on her back. She even turned her palms towards him and smiled weakly, to further relax him, and saw his stance shift back a bit. From quasi-ready to strike, like a predator coiled to strike, to something more resting and relaxed.

Like a predator at rest.

"No, it does not." It had never happened, for point of fact. "Just… Please, you said she would have information for him. Let us have it and go, so he may process his… Understandings properly."

"Well…" The Turian shrugged, looked at the thin door and, through the yellowed panel glass there, the Geth standing stooped against the wall on the opposite side of the hall from them. With another shrug, the Turian asked, "Liara?"

"I would want an exchange. Geth survey data, technology- And not the trash I'm sure he hands out normally, either." Liara listed, shaking her head curtly at Pyrrha's grimace, which she wasn't able to erase swiftly enough. "I will have data moved to a storage device on a job I want the Geth- Legion, rather. A job I want Legion to do. Not one you'll want to be involved with, though."

"Why not?"

"Because it involves Reapers." The alien answered, smiling gently when Garrus rose and rounded on her, hands curled into fists and shoulders rigid like steel. "Garrus, don't-"

"No, _you_ don't, Liara." The Turian snarled, putting a distinct impression on the young woman beside the older alien that this as an old argument. A festering one at that, like a wound untended. "Don't tell me you're on your Leviathan kick again, Liara. Even _Cerberus_, Spirits be damned _Cerberus_, Liara, even they didn't buy your feed on Leviathan or the Reaper killers."

"And if Legion goes aboard the derelict in Thorne and retrieves the data I ask, since Cerberus refused, he will get what he wants." Liara smiled, then, and it made her heart sink, even as the woman turned to her and asked, "A simple milk run for your friend and, well, we all get what we want."

"Do we, now?" The alien woman nodded and gave that little smile again, the one that set stones in her stomach. "Why can't I go with him? If it is so… So important, I mean. Surely you could use additional insurances of success."

"Reaper tech can indoctrinate organics by them being around it, and do so quickly." Liara explained, Garrus beside her nodding with a grim look set to his… Mandibles, she guessed, since 'jaw' didn't look right. "Sending you could spell disaster, not just for the mission but also for a… Rather unique woman. And at a time where I am looking for unique people."

"You are?"

"Oh, yes. A contract with… Interested parties, and you will understand why an information broker doesn't offer more." She smiled again, ever the same chilling look. Like someone more focused on what a person could do, like their skills were to the last listed on their skins and the person was irrelevant.

The same way Ozpin had looked at her… And she wasn't sure if that should put her so on edge, or not.

"March oh warriors, even unto death…" She murmured, shaking her head when the aliens looked to her in confusion. Though she supposed beyond death was where she marched, now, given her unique circumstances. "Nothing. A saying of my homeland. Give me the information, Miss T'Soni, and I will see he gets it as well. Then we'll consider it and… Well, we shall see."

Legion's mission outweighed her own hangups, as ingrained as literal death could be. And Ozpin's involvement. Not to mention that Brother damned _smile_, of course, but she knew her duty. And one thing Ozpin had been honest about was her loyalty to meeting her duty head on, if nothing else.

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

"_Even unto death."_ The woman he'd raised anew murmured, her voice echoing across the barren waste that surrounded him.

"I don't understand…" The Dark Brother growled, sitting in his ashen throne with his chin in his hand. Around him, the expanse of a moon a million years from any living being's reach stretched on. Desolate, quiet, and only bearing atmosphere for his enjoyment of hearing his own voice, which echoed around them gently. "She died for this petty sense of _duty_, why would she keep to it?"

"Perhaps, Brother, it is because she is a good person at her core. Not one to buckle under loss and strain of life, as some have." His brother answered, sitting in a throne of ornate wood and vines, a million miles away but as present in his mind and ear as ever. "What I fail to understand is why you sent her to a doomed realm, so soon to its destruction, when you wished her to live again."

"I wanted to see adventure and drama, Brother, not…" He cut himself off with a wave of his hand, eyes locked on the rift he'd clawed in space and time to watch the girl as he was wont to do. It was better than blowing up rocks, at the least. "Ugh, whatever, you wouldn't understand my motivations."

"I certainly won't when you won't explain them..."

"Ten eons and you still don't understand me?"

"Beyond your desire and pleasure in smashing the beautiful things in life, simply to see them burning? No. I do not." And there was the disappointing thing, really. "It isn't like I don't try, Brother."

Even now, he was so haughty. So vain and self-righteous. As though creating beings solely to worship and please you wasn't equally evil and immoral? At least he was honest about his desires… And tended to only smash things that didn't have a mind of their own. His brother tended to prefer to pretend he had no such proclivities, even as he had bent his followers to crush the worship of so-called 'false gods'.

And ah, when Salem had done the same, he'd had nothing but disdain for his Brother to hear.

"But she is not so pure, Brother. She is broken, suspicious, and oh the anger stirring under her surface…" It was like a storm building to crescendo before his very eyes, but leashed by a storm god unwilling to let loose her fury. "I don't understand why, Brother."

"Have you asked her?" He didn't respond, and that was enough for his brother to sigh and shake his head. "Honestly… You told me you wished a disciple of your own to revive. And I agreed. Yet you do not speak to your own hopeful worshipper?"

"I do speak to her. Only…"

"You do not know how to handle speaking to those who worship you. And of course you do not, you had none on the World..." The God of Light sighed, seeming to come to a sudden conclusion. A conclusion that had wood creaking and cracking across their connection, enough to waver even their deific communication magic for a moment. "Has she even prayed to you?"

"No…" And that irked him, truly, in ways he couldn't explain in words. "No, she has not, in fact reached out to me. In prayer or otherwise."

A flick of his finger splintered a mountain in clear display, though.

"Then _communicate_ with her, Brother." His brother said gently, like a father prodding him to play. Even though they were equals, on proverbial paper at least, it had always been this way. "Go to her, and talk. Tell her what you desire, offer her rewards, boons, and she will obey. Treat her well, and she will come to love you as her god."

"...I shall consider it." He eventually allowed, sighing tiredly and turning to lash out with his hand and carve another rift in time and space. A million ships, like crawfish, swarmed by him at speeds that nearly touched that of light. "Perhaps an offer of information, ahead of the danger she's going to face… As a start to get her to wish for my favor."

"It needs to be something she couldn't get otherwise." His brother chimed in so helpfully, able to see where his magic reached and what it showed. And as ever, nosy enough to _look_, even when he himself always gave his Lightborn brother privacy. "Those vessels are craft that belong to a race known as the Reapers, a known quantity in this world. Such information would soon be known to her, on this path, and in great detail."

"Hm…"

With a flick of his hand, the image changed to that of a woman, small and frail and scattered across the ground. A soul flickered like a candle among the strewn circuits, oil and limbs, and soon began to fade into nothingness. A soul lost, even if it would be copied in the future of her world, on the same evening as his follower.

"I do not approve…"

"But do you consent?" He asked quietly, already drawing the soul to his hand, where it pulsed and glowed like an ember plucked from a flame. With his thumb, knowing his brother would never see, he brushed it like a parent brushing hair from a child's face, to ease the fear he sensed. "Unlike you, I will never act without your consent."

"Will you ever forgive that slight?"

"I may." He didn't _say_ that this might help along the way, but he was sure that his brother assumed so.

"Very well." The other, more self-righteous and glory seeking being sighed, "One more soul, but not a single one more. And let there be peace between us."

"Peace." He agreed, smiling thinly and looking back to the woman as she began to leave, tugging her unresponsive synthetic companion along behind her and clutching a small disc in her other hand.

Now, he just needed the right time to unveil his gift...

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

_**Merendinoe Miliano :**_

**I have tried pretty hard to master, or at least well enough convey, that aspect. So thank you!**

_**Alpha (Guest) :**_

**Spoilers~**

_**The Prime Cronos :**_

**Theoretically, yes, she could. But awakening Auras is a very intimate gesture where one links souls, touching your very **_**being**_ **to another to grant them your strength. So it's less 'can she' and more 'would she'.**

_**Hi (Guest) :**_

**In short answers? I have considered a myriad number of applications, yes. Her ammunition isn't Dust anymore, the God of Darkness used magic to alter her weapon. Spoilers to the third question. And glad you are enjoying it! Thank Espa for it.**

_**Thermidor :**_

**Thanks!**

_**Zentari :**_

**That 'random Krogan' was a Biotic warlord likely around ten times her age, with blows that could hurl a tank aside. That she survived a slug across the face is me bending the capabilities of Aura already. Think of it more like 'Wow, the most powerful variant of the most physically powerful race in the GALAXY couldn't even come out of a scrap with her without losing blood.'**


	8. Chapter 8

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

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_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

Legion was waiting in the hallway outside for her when she stepped out of the little room the console was in. Its shoulders straightened when she emerged and he turned to her, flanges flexing in what she always construed as happiness, like a friend smiling when you came into a room, and she nodded a greeting. Quietly, the two turned and left while the Turian watched them idly, headed out into a wide sitting area under and beside some stairs. Under those stairs they found a small table and sat down, silent for a long time while both thought and waited for the other to speak.

"So, Legion." She finally started, pursing her lips anxiously and then sighing and smiling gently at her companion. "Are you… I don't suppose 'feeling better' applies in the same lens to you, but I will ask regardless. Are you feeling better?"

"We have been processing information and referencing your words for clarity." The machine answered, only adding when she frowned and made a clearly dissatisfied face at him. And a rather theatrical one, too, for his benefit and her convenience. "We believe that the most analogous term would be 'following our instincts'. There is evidence that is not conclusive, but we feel that there is something here."

"Something worth pursuing, then?" She asked, "Something that you believe is worth the effort, well and truly?"

"Affirmative."

"Even if it's… Uncomfortable?"

"Your question is a worrying one, and your tone implies… Tension." The machine's flanges flicked at the realization towards the end of its statement and it leaned forward, looking at her more closely for a long moment. Like it was analyzing her, in spite of her scowl at the realization. "You appear unharmed. Why are you stressed? Has your secret been-"

"N-No! They didn't find out about-" She blanched and turned in her seat, looking out for ears that could have heard what little the machine had said. When she saw nothing, though, she relaxed and settled into the cold metal seat. "No, Legion, nothing that was said involved my past."

"Oh." The machine 'blinked' again, flanges flicking and light dimming for a moment. "We were worried for you, when you seemed afraid. We are pleased to hear that all is well."

"It is! All is… Fine." Or as fine as things possibly could be, she supposed, given everything that had thus far happened. And presumably seemed about to happen, as well, given the mission on offer that she needed to relay to her friend. Smiling, she started to do just that, "Nothing is wrong, Legion, like I said. Everything is perfectly fine. However, they... Made you an offer."

"An offer of cooperation?" It asked hopefully.

"Yes, but one with caveats." She answered, grimacing lightly when the machine cocked his head to the side in question. "She's offering you information in exchange for a favor. She needs you to head out of the system and investigate a Reaper derelict that she says no one else will go to. She gave me this for you."

"We will examine the details. A moment, please." The machine nodded, taking the little bricke from her and slotting it into a small input between two of its hands. Only a moment passed before Legion stiffened suddenly and yanked the drive free, slamming it on the table with uncharacteristic anger. "We will not abandon you."

"But your mission-"

"Our mission is in part to further connections and understandings of organic beings in pursuit of peace and understanding." The machine noted simply and firmly, "Abandoning our companions at the first moment of need does not further this goal."

"You aren't abandoning me, Legion, you're just going on a mission I can't." When the machine didn't respond, she sighed and pursed her lips to think of another way to phrase it. It could be hard for her, sometimes, to convey an idea appropriately when someone didn't like it. Confrontations like that just weren't to her talents or tastes, sadly. "If you had to go into space to fix something, and left me behind in the ship, would that be abandoning me?"

"No."

"And if we parted in a mission, to cover more ground?"

"...No." The machine answered, realizing instantly what her point would be. "A parting on the field would not last more than a few hours. This will last weeks or months. The matters are vastly different, Pyrrha."

"I disagree." She noted simply, smiling thinly at the machine and speaking before he could, a single hand raised in a request for his silence. A request that, as always, the alien machine accepted readily, listening to her say her piece. "Your mission is to pursue a better future for your entire race, and find Shepard in an effort to do so. And mine, self-appointed or not, is to help that. Not hinder it."

"You are not hindering our mission." The machine said, voice tighter and higher than normal. A sign of his agitation, she supposed. "Our acceptance in Omega is due to your presence. Aria T'Loak was unwilling to allow us to stay for such durations before you came."

"Yes, but that is separate. Here, I _can't_ go with you. It's dangerous for me, hazardous enough Liara was unwilling to give the information to us if I was going to come with you." Even if she wanted to go with Legion, she didn't want to hazard whatever the Old Machines could do to her. "Going with you, I could be indoctrinated. If you don't go, though, you will not receive information potentially vital to your overall endeavours."

"..." The machine said nothing for a long, long moment, instead staring at her silently. Weight what she'd said, she knew, waiting in her own silence while he did so. Finally, the machine spoke, "We do not wish to leave you, however. You are the only Organic to show friendliness to us, and we do not wish to part with that. It is too rare. We fear the loss of that."

"You're not losing me, Legion. Friends part ways for vast lengths of time, and do so often." It was like he was a child, nearly. He didn't understand how things worked yet, and she was willing to wager his entire species was the same. "Being apart isn't the end of things, though I'm sure it's a novel thing for your people. We'll still meet after, and we'll still be friends. But this is everything you are out here for, Legion, you _have_ to do this."

"Your logic is undeniable." The machine murmured, seeming to resign itself to what it didn't like even as she'd been speaking. "And you are certain this will not impact our relations?"

"Of course not." She responded with an earnest, reassuring and simple smile. "And you can use this experience as an example, of organic relations and what comes of them. Time apart is normal."

"We will accept the request, then." The machine stood, stopping to retrieve the data-device as it did and gave her a nod. "You will be… Well, while we are gone? You… Your needs are met?"

"I will find work for Credits, but beyond that, I am fine." The machine's flanges flicked and she raised a hand, smiling. "I don't want any of yours, Legion. You will be needing them, and I can readily earn my own."

"You are certain?"

"I am sure someone on this station would enjoy a guard such as myself, and should worse match worse, I will pursue fighting." Omega had to have tournaments, after all. It was the perfect place for them. And if it didn't, she was sure Aria would _love_ seeing her fight. "I'll talk to Aria for work that fits my… Tastes and talents."

Meaning, that weren't anything overtly _evil_, like drug running or something worse. Or fights to the death for mere amusement, for that matter, though she'd have that out with Aria T'Loak herself if it came to that.

"ExtraNet searches show doctors in the quarantine zone requesting Human medical attendants and bodyguards, citing plague immunity." It was worrying that such a plague was growing so rapidly on the station… The machine gave her a look after a moment and then nodded, "Doctor Mordin Solus is among them. We recommend working with him. He is a known quantity, and history searches validate him as a good candidate."

"That… Is not a poor idea." She decided, standing and giving him a somewhat bittersweet smile. "Farewell, Legion. I shall… Ask Vakarian for a ride and head to meet Mordin."

Hopefully, he wouldn't mind giving her a lift back, since she didn't fancy walking the whole way.

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

"Thank you for the ride, Sidonis." She murmured for the tenth time that day, Sidonis chuckling almost nervously and shaking his head wryly at her words. The Turian was, oddly enough, seemingly a man of few words, but he'd been more than happy to give her a ride when she asked. "I know you said it was nothing, but I do appreciate the time and effort of doing it."

"Like I said, better to get you out of my hair." He shrugged as the sky-car came to a stop beside Afterlife. Turning and leaning over her, the Turian pointed a talon past a row of pipes and at two sealed doors with tired, dirty looking Omega citizens milling about around them. "One on the right, and hook a right past the corner. Tell the guard you're working for Solus. Garrus sent a message ahead for you, so you're expected."

"He did?"

"Yeah, he's… He's a big softy, really." The Turian's face seemed pinched at that, but he shrugged it off and waved a hand in her direction in a clear dismissal. Of both his own expression and her raised brow, she guessed. "Probably felt bad for shooting you, even if it didn't, well… _Stick_."

"A common problem for those like me." Though there were none in this realm, or world, or however one referred to it, the sentiment was true nonetheless. Stepping out onto the dark, firm concrete outside Afterlife. "Have a good-"

With a muted screech, the sky-car listed away and down, dipping out of sight and vanishing into Omega's bowels. Where he was headed so quickly or why he'd so rudely brushed her off even as friendly as they'd been, she hadn't the faintest idea, but she shrugged it off and turned to leave regardless. Whatever was the case, it really wasn't her business. And she was willing to wager he was off on some grand adventure or mission for Garrus and their band of apparent crime fighters.

Because apparently, Omega had those.

For a brief moment, so short it passed inside a single voice, she paused and felt her gaze drawn to the doors of Afterlife. One of the guards there, a Krogan with a thick helmet on, saw her and gave a nod of recognition. She was a known quantity, here in Afterlife, and especially so in her armor and carrying her weapons. She could go and offer her services to Aria for far more credits and influence than Mordin could possibly ever give her. Influence and credits that she and Legion could put to good use in the fight against the Old Machines. Whenever _that_ started, at least, though Liara seemed to believe it would be soon.

Soon for an Asari could be centuries away, though.

"No sense thinking of what may be when you haven't yet dealt with what is, Pyrrha." She chided herself gently, offering a respectful nod to the Krogan and turning away, headed the direction Sidonis had pointed out. "One step at a time along the long march to success, as the old king once said."

It occurred to her that if the fable of the Sisters of the Seasons was true, then the fable of the Old Mountain Kings might be as well. And the King of Black sounded… _Familiar_.

"I would wager it does, and how kind of you to be thinking of me." She gasped at the voice, its breath brushing against her ear so intimately she flushed, and spun on her heel.

In the same motion Omega vanished, the old, grimy station interior replaced by bleak white and rock walls that closed around her and high over her. The god of Darkness chuckled at her holding her sword out towards him and she grimaced, lowering the weapon fearfully. He was larger than she remembered, and lounging on a throne that looked to be made of as much ash as solid rock. Overhead, the ash and rock looked like a cathedral, almost, albeit old looking, dilapidated and crumbling.

"M-My lord." Almost an after thought, she knelt, laying her weapons on the ground and watching the apathetic face of the ancient deity all the while. When he didn't speak she swallowed anxiously and asked, in a weak voice, "It is, um, it is good to see you."

"Oh how I wish you meant those words…" The being sighed and sounded… Morose, in a way that was shockingly surprising to her. Her brow furrowed and he shifted almost uncomfortably, avoiding meeting her eyes for a moment. Finally, he grunted, "Do you know why I wished to revive you?"

"You… Wanted the amusement in watching me fight and flounder." That had been his original statement, at least, though she wasn't sure that was the truth now that he asked. Or at least, now that he asked _like that_. "Is that… Not the reason why you saved me? Or-Or reincarnated me, maybe? I don't really know the right term for what you did in all honesty..."

"I would say I healed and moved you, since while you did die _physically_, I plucked your soul and body from your dying point and brought you before me." The deity helpfully offered in that same ever-present, ever aloof and snarky tone. In a way, he reminded her of Weiss, albeit much bigger and _exceedingly_ more powerful and terrifying. "Frozen in time, I mended your wounds and sent you on your way."

"I see…" A more conventional form of rescue then, oddly enough considering the whole '_literal_ divine intervention' thing. "So… Why _did_ you save me? Why give me this second chance?"

"...In the old days on the World, your Remnant, my brother and I lived apart from each other by design." The being began, sounding… Wistful, nearly, though at the same time sneering and dismissive. Like he was deriding his own beliefs and what he himself had done. "Each of us had different tastes for how we wished our homes to look. You have seen his, the trees and stretching oceans full of fish and the like. And this is mine."

"It… Is?"

"Of course it is! Why else would I dwell in a place with my power? I need not _settle_ for second rate and not attempt to attain my beauty. I…" The deity cut himself off with a sigh and, suddenly enough she stiffened in fear, the deity stood and began to make its way towards her. And then _past_ her, towards the door out of the strange cathedral, "It would be easier to show you, Nikos. Come."

"Y-Yes! I'm, ah, coming, Lord." She squeaked, standing and following behind the giant as he led her out, feeling like a child following a parent.

"Tell me what you see, girl." He said once they were outside, the chill air of the moon-like surroundings brushing against her gently.

"I see… I see nothing." She answered, and that was true to her eyes.

There was nothing around them save a stretching, bleak expanse of silvery-white land and bright, starry skies overhead. In the distance, a massive mountain stretched high into the sky, monolithic and powerful, and her eyes felt drawn up its sharp slopes to the apex. Beyond it, a gas planet sat, storms raging on its surface clear even to her where she stood, and spindled around the peak of the mountain.

"Do you like that view, Pyrrha?" The being asked quietly when he saw her looking and turned to kneel beside her. The woman could only nod, transfixed by the patterns of the storms, and the being chuckled. "Beauty through destruction and simplicity are what I enjoy. And you enjoy it too. You're doing it even now."

"I am…" And surprisingly, she was. The way the gas planet backlit and highlighted the mountain was surprisingly splendid, and seemed almost purposeful and tied to the bleakness around her. And that brought her to a realization. "You destroy to shape things, and install bleakness to draw the eye to features you create and their artistry."

"Precisely!" The being clapped like an excited child and rose, striding forward and spreading its arms as though to encompass the entirety of the mountain and the planet beyond. "Where my brothers fills to the brim his own ideals of beauty until they are mediocre and crushing to the senses, I prefer the bleak to allow the extraordinary to stand out. And I destroy them, inevitably, for the beauty of their destruction and impermanence."

"An immortal being that prizes the impermanence of things?" The god nodded and she blinked, surprised by the juxtaposition of the idea in her head. "I'd always supposed that one with infinite time would want that which matched their infinite time. Though I suspect that would grow old and stale at some point."

"Exactly! A wonder my brother lost touch so swiftly…" The deity sighed and shook himself then, and turned to the young woman with his terrifying grin. Or, well, it was a normal grin but _his face_ made it frightening for virtue of how he was made. "You asked why I saved you, and the reason is simple. My brother always got all the worshippers, and even that wretched wraith he tethered to the world loves and obeys him. Yet not a soul ever honestly cared for me in the same way."

"You want me to… Worship you?"

"I want you to _want_ to, yes." The being corrected, turning to head into the cathedral once more with the woman trailing unsurely behind him. As he walked, feet thundering on the stone of the ground and leaving imprints half the size of her own body. "I do not want to force it, though. I am not my brother, to lord over those beneath me and demand subservience."

"Your brother… Forced people to worship him?"

"Nothing so base and simple, I assure you." He waved her off and sat in his massive chair, the woman only meeting his shoulder while he was _lounging_. A disparity in size to match the one in power, she supposed. "My brother exchanged favors and granted wishes, the same as I was willing to. Unlike myself, though, he went first and offered them. And then required idolization to continue granting them."

"What kinds of... Favors?" She asked, feeling a bit… Off put by the idea, with that same typical undertow of suspicion she'd learned from Ozpin and been practicing with Aria and those like her. "That they couldn't keep from going to him, I mean. I'm assuming they couldn't, at least."

"Oh, ha, no they could not. They very, very definitely could not, and for a wide variety of reasons as well." The deity laughed again, the sound long and harsh as it echoed around them and out across the desolation. "One such favor was bringing rains to otherwise desolate regions. Another was causing fruits to seed more, well forgive me the pun, _fruitfully_ than normal. Now picture what rescinding that gift would do to cities built upon that food."

"People would starve…"

"And that begot reverence, which then begot zealotry. Soon, those peoples who had never fallen to knees for him were warred against. Oh, my brother didn't _order_ it, of course. But… Nor did he intervene." The god sighed and looked to the side then, out the window and at the space away to the other side from the mountain and the gas giant. "Soon, most of the world loved and worshipped him. For fear or not was never relevant."

"And you were alone, because you didn't push yourself on others." Pyrrha guessed, smiling grimly at his curt nod. "That is… Truly tragic."

"Like dying alone on a tower, saving a man who only knew your love for your farewell kiss?" She flinched and felt tears well up before suddenly, a shadow loomed over her. Gently, almost fearfully, the god of Darkness laid its hand on her head and rubbed it like a parent would a child. "Forgive me. I didn't mean you harm, little one."

"I… Figured not. You don't seem the, well, abusive type. In spite of… Everything." She didn't step away from him even if she felt a desire to, instinctual and deep within her. Where it came from, she wasn't sure, but it was always there. Nagging at the back of her mind. "Both our stories are tragic. Is that… Is that why you chose me? Instead of anyone else?"

"Perhaps, and perhaps not." The god chuckled, leaning back and sighing, its arms resting in his lap comfortably. "In truth, you were just… Convenient, I suppose is the way to say it. He agreed to my demands, and you were dying in the same moment. So fate fell into place and I plucked you from yours."

"I see…" And in truth, she did, and for the first time looked up at the being and saw what should have been impossible to even consider for a literal deity. "You're like me, then. Aren't you?"

"Hm?"

"Lonely." She clarified simply, sighing and taking a seat beside the throne, with her back resting against the cool stone of his seat. When he made no move to force her away, she relaxed and explained, "From a young age, I was forced onto a pedestal where no one could reach me, or speak to me without _proper_ reverence and respect. And if none wished to approach me, I would not approach them and shatter their hope filled illusions of my grandeur. And so I stayed alone."

"In the same way that I was unwilling to foist myself onto others to gain what I desired, you did not force others to see you differently." Darkness nodded, a long finger drumming on his chin while he leaned on his palm, watching her. "I… Suppose you are right, and we are more similar than I would have considered. Fate, maybe."

"Would a god be ruled by fate?"

"It would appear so, even if I don't care to think about it." The being shrugged, seemingly casting aside the conversation in a deep breath and sigh. "Regardless, my brother advised that I should _tell you_ I wanted to earn your faith. And to give you something to pave the way towards that."

"Give me something...?"

"Oh yes. Something from your own world and realm, and someone you ought to enjoy, from my observations of you." He snapped his fingers and a sound like thunder rumbled through the world around them. With it came a sound like shattering stone, and roaring fire, before the deity sighed contentedly and relaxed in his throne. "Oh, I love breaking the laws of reality… This is the second time I've gotten to do this."

"The second…" She stood and looked out across the cathedral, but didn't see anything but crumbling stone and old architecture. "What did you-"

"Salutations, friend Pyrrha!" An old, familiar voice called from her side, the woman rounding suddenly and stiffening at the innocent, smiling face that blinked up at her. Grinning wider, Penny bounced and clapped, "Oh it is so good to see you again! I had feared we would never speak again, friend Pyrrha!"

All Pyrrha managed to do was scream and flail.

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

_**Espa's Message Zone of Messaging :**_

**Hello everyone, this is the Mastermind that thought up this interesting story and pitched it to Twisted. I must say I am both surprised and happy at how popular this story has become. Those that have followed or subscribed to this story thank you for showing us that you enjoy the story**_**. **_

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

_**Dragoon : **_

**What characters say and feel are not reflections of my opinions, or objective truth, but theirs. To some, Salem not mentioning speaking to Darkness' brother is enough for a lie. Also, why wouldn't Darkness care about pettiness? Genuinely curious, as it would shape the character.**

**Pyrrha's death literally precipitated the crippling of Cinder Fall and the destruction of Kevin, the Grimm Dragon, through Ruby, for instance. **_**Victory**_ **is not what she accomplished, but that doesn't mean she accomplished **_**nothing**_**. **

_**Thermidor 606 :**_

**Thank you~!**

_**Over Lad (Guest) :**_

**Darkness is who he is. He likes monsters, blowing stuff up, and so on. He still wants love, though, as evidenced by his eagerness when Salem came to him. He wants these things, but doesn't **_**understand**_ **how to go about getting them.**

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**Espa relayed your review to me and I will say to you what I said to him. I have them in view for MUCH longer, thus the added depth. Glad you are enjoying it though!**


	9. Chapter 9

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"Y-You… But I-" She choked on the words, on what she'd been about to say and what she'd _done_, and Penny cocked her head to the side in confusion. Anger, revulsion, and confusion warred inside of her while she stammered like a frightened child would when they saw a ghost. "Penny we, I, that is to say you were… In the tournament I-I didn't mean to, I swear, it… It wasn't-"

"What is wrong, Friend Pyrrha?" The android asked quietly, face a mask of innocent confusion and head cocked to the side. Taking a wary step towards her, with the watching god at her back, Penny smiled and offered a hand, "Whatever is the problem, we can get through it together. We are friends after all, aren't we?"

"B-But I… Penny, don't you remember?" That had to be it, she decided, turning her gaze on the dark god looming over them and scowling. Even as frightened as she was of the great being she still had to ask, as politely as she could manage through her hammering heart and roaring nerves. "Did you play with her mind? I know you are able to do so, you've quelled my emotions before."

"Your faith in me is absolutely _lovely_ to behold, my dear." The dark being chuckled, the sound rolling into a tired sigh as her eyes narrowed. Shaking its great head and then leaning his chin on the palm of his hand, elbow on his throne's arm, he answered boredly. "I did nothing to the little thing. She's simply too sickly sweet to blame you for an accident."

"Thank you!" Penny turned, beaming a smile up at the surprised deity. "I always try to be sweet and kind to my friends. And you saved my life, so you're my friend too!"

"I… Am a god-"

"Who is my friend!" Penny nodded simply, the deity turning purple eyes on the still shocked Mistralian, clearly begging for help. Penny misunderstood the look, or didn't care about the real reason, and turned to smile at Pyrrha as well. "And you are my friend as well, Friend Pyrrha. Even if you were made to accidentally dismember me, I assure you it is all quite alright."

"I dismembered you…"

"It was an accident! And really, what is a little dismemberment between good friends?" Murder, Pyrrha wanted to say. It was murder, but the bubbly little android's wide smile and bright eyes robbed the words from her. "So let's leave it in the past and move on, like friends should when they accidentally murder each other."

"B-But I…"

"I forgive you. That's what matters, right? So now we can be friends again! Like before, but better and closer friends." Growing more serious when Pyrrha didn't respond, instead stuck doing her best impression of a breathless fish, Penny spoke, "My power capacitors let me see for a time after my disassembly. I saw the look on your face. You were shocked, broken. I don't believe that you meant to hurt me."

"She was tricked by the Semblance of another, which pushed her past what her already taxed mind could take." Darkness offered, the Mistralian and Android gazes both snapping to him in surprise. With a sardonic roll of his great, violet eyes, the creature sighed. "And you both forgot I knew all for my godly sight. Didn't you?"

"In fairness, a deity is a very strange friend to have. And we only just met so it is completely understandable we wouldn't know you so well yet!" The deity groaned at the contradiction there, but waved Penny off. Arguing with her, Pyrrha had swiftly learned even by just watching her with team RWBY, was a pointless affair. Still he grumbled about being her _god_ not her _friend_, and Penny pouted cutely. "You saved me, and brought me back to my friend to make things right, so you are my friend."

"You should just give up." Pyrrha coached gently, finally feeling a sense of calm wash over her. Darkness' interference, she assumed, shrugging it off and sighing. Blinking, she added a more reverent, "My Lord, I mean. You should, uh, give up. Penny can be quite _assertive_ about who her friends are."

"Don't force it now. We wouldn't want you to hurt yourself or anything silly like that, hm?" The being chuckled, though, and seemed content with the respectful term regardless of his snipping. Finally, he turned his gaze on Penny and nodded gently. "Call me what you like, girl. I find that I do not care."

"Understood, Friend God."

"Right…" The deity shook its head and turned to Pyrrha now, moving on and ignoring the bubbly android's 'sickly sweetness' as he'd called it. Instead, he spoke in a more firm, official way to her. "You will reappear in your world close to your destination. Penny shall be with you, and how you two come together is your own problem to solve."

"I understand." She nodded, giving Penny a look and explaining in brief, "I, that is to say we now so long as you agree, are headed to guard a free clinic on a space station. It should be rather safe, and the doctor there is a good man, albeit… Strange. So long as you keep secret what you are, it should all be well."

"A real space station?" Her eyes widened when Pyrrha nodded, silently praying the girl had heard everything _else_ she'd said. Clapping her hands, the girl bounced on her heels and giggled excitedly. "Sensational! Absolutely sensational! Oh, if only Father could see it… He so loved the ideas of going to space, even as impossible as he assured me it was to accomplish such in his lifetime."

The mention of her father seemed to dim her mood for a moment, her gaze turning hazy and unfocused while she stood frozen where she was. Then she blinked, smiled again, and gave Pyrrha a look, "Oh, I am so excited!"

"Penny…"

"Should you need to speak with me, you need only pray." The god cut in, not wanting to extend their being in his realm any further. Or feeling left out of an emotional conversation, she supposed. Clasping his hands in a pantomime of a maiden, the god dramatized, "Oh dear Lord of Darkness and my savior, I beg of you for a favor! That sort of thing. Got it?"

"I suppose…?"

"Yes, Friend Lord of Darkness and-"

"That isn't my name, girl, I just meant to show how you both should… Ugh. Forget it." The deity waved her off and reclined in his throne, seeming tired but… Satisfied, in a way she couldn't claim to understand but still saw. It was in the way he sat, shoulders sloped comfortably and chin in his hands, relaxed rather than tense. "Now, if none of the students have any questions, I can return you and-"

"Mm!" Penny grunted, actually raising her hand and bouncing on her heels.

"Is she…?" Darkness' violet eyes turned to the Mistralian and Pyrrha grimaced.

"She is raising her hands to ask a question, yes." A blink again and she stammered, adding an out of habit, "M-My lord, I mean. You, ah, you did ask if the _students_ had any questions, after all."

"This is my existence now, isn't it…? This is it. Dealing with attitude and snark from a girl I am unable to be angry with." The deity sighed and waved towards the android girl, sounding even more exhausted but oddly amused. "Fine. Ask your question, girl. I'll remember to be more literal next time to avoid this but I am a primordial force of fury of my word."

"Why do you keep calling me 'girl'? And who is going to maintain my inner mechanisms? And-" The deity held up a hand and Penny paused, smiling pleasantly while the god pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned. When he didn't speak, Penny rattled out, "Sorry, I had a few questions, because you kept talking and I kept thinking up more."

"I call you girl because you are one, and I'm feeling snide, frankly. It's a character quirk of mine, being snide all the time. You'll adapt to it, I'm sure." Penny preened at that answer, oddly, and Pyrrha had to fight not to giggle. He knew them, she was fully aware, and thus knew Penny better than even she did. And he seemed to be playing off of something, which was making the android happy. "The second question is rather simple, really. Your internals are infused with my own blessings and will mend over time. For energy, simply eat a meal or, more rapidly if you need it, touch raw electricity somehow. That will give you a boost."

"Can I taste food?" Penny suddenly erupted, "Please tell me I can taste food!"

"You can, yes, I felt that-" The being sighed as Penny squeed excitedly and then, seeing his agitation, coughed into a hand and smiled apologetically. Giving her a look to see if she intended to actually _remain_ calm, he finally sighed. "Now I am afraid we are out of time for questions. Do your homework, or don't, have some drugs, whatever. I'm sending you back now."

Neither got the chance to speak before his fingers snapped and thunder rolled, the two blinking owlishly at the filthy walls of an Omega alleyway. Grimy, crossed overhead by old and rusty piping with a grated walkway - or the bottom of a room, you could never tell frankly - and lined in garbage and sleeping people, it was everything she was used to. Gently, and fighting her own once again rising guilt, Pyrrha took one of Penny's hands and tugged her toward the end of the alleyway.

"Penny, this is Omega. You need to be careful, here, as people aren't friendly and will turn on you if you-"

"So it is like Vacuo from our home is then?" Pyrrha gave the girl a look as they stepped out into a wider passage of sorts, the sounds of the crazy preacher she'd been told about reaching her. Smiling primly as they walked toward a distant checkpoint and the trio of guards at it, minding the quarantine, Penny explained, "Father always said the same of Vacuo. That you couldn't trust those 'patent ignoring sandy gits', as he phrased it."

"Yes. Just like Vacuo, yes, people here aren't… Trustworthy all the time." No, Vacuoans were a more kindly, honorable people than one would expect. A product of the harsh desert and nomadic life, apparently. But it made explaining it to Penny easier, and when it came to _those_ particular kinds of battles she didn't mind cheating. "Just follow my lead and you will be fine, alright? And for the love of the God of Darkness, don't let anyone try and sell you anything."

"I will trust what you say, Friend Pyrrha." The girl nodded, beaming a smile and waving at a Batarian as they passed by. The alien scowled but Penny seemed unbothered, instead turning her head to look around as they made their way. "Everything here is so interesting! And dirty. Do you think they need me to show the Atlesian maintenance protocols?"

"No, Penny." She rolled her eyes but she smiled nonetheless, grateful for a reminder of home. Even laced with lingering regret as it was, if was a comfort. "Just come with me. We've a nice alien man to protect, after all."

"Mhm!" She nodded eagerly, seeming at once like a little girl even as she rolled her shoulders and grinned widely. "We will disassemble anyone who thinks they can hurt your friends, Friend Pyrrha. Do not fret, I am combat ready."

The combination of adorable little girl and apparent murder bot was… An odd one, to say the least. But one she ignored well enough, pausing to introduce herself so the guards - and her Human escorts, apparently - let her by and showed her through to Mordin's Clinic. What she had to say wouldn't reveal their secrets, so she took the time to relay how Penny would need to behave on Omega as they walked.

Starting with a ban on Penny _ever_ going into Afterlife by herself, or preferably _at all_.

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

"So, Brother?" His aggravating, no doubt eavesdropping sibling started significantly less than a quarter of an hour after the children - his children now, he supposed - had been sent on their way. Shining as sickeningly bright through their communication portal as always, and smiling to boot, the other god asked, "How did it go? Did you take my advice, ask them to actually pray? Make your desires known?"

"You were watching, I don't doubt it for a moment, so you would know. Wouldn't you?" He was mildly satisfied when the golden one grimaced and stiffened, if only for a split second. The Favored One was always watching, he'd learned that eons ago. And there was no point arguing over it, as it was in his brother's nature, and he wouldn't oppose that. "As I thought, you are ever the predictable one. So, tell me how you felt it went, Brother."

"Before or after the elder girl stopped screaming?" Darkness snorted at the joke and that seemed to ease the tension between them, if only just. Though the Light God's expression grew stern in the emptied air, and Darkness knew he was about to become patronizing again. "I believe it went well, actually. They speak to you with reverence in their wording, at least, though you should discipline them when they fail to. Not wave it off."

"They are learning fast enough, Brother." He argued simply, idly inspecting one of his nails like he was checking for dirt. An act in futility both were aware of, since dirt couldn't cling to him any more than a blade could cut him or a bullet could penetrate his divine skin. As always, though, his brother didn't rise to the petty baiting. "And those two are a grateful, dutiful kind of people. Especially young Pyrrha, which is part of why I so eagerly picked her. Once they adapt to having a god watching over them, and fully come to terms with their changes, they will do it simply to make me happy out of gratitude."

"You could enforce it." Light remarked dryly, speaking in that quiet, tired voice he often used when he broached a topic he believed would front an argument. Typically, he was right about that, too. "Cow them into submission, maybe. Or make them reliant on your powers, perhaps in the form of gifted magic or weaponry to protect themselves even better."

"I want true love and devoted adoration, Brother. Not the fear and the adulation of trembling slaves, afraid not to kneel and grovel and have me strike them down." _That_ actually drew a scowl from his light-aligned brother and a smile from his own dark visage. It was so rare that his brother scowled that way, and he had to fight not to capitalize on it and be petty, even with the quite literally _golden_ opportunity presented to him. "I rule my subjects as I see fit, just as you did back on the World. That is how it has always been."

"Yes, because my way earned me more of what we both desired. Love, worship, adulation, servitude and above all obedience." Light countered hotly, voice low and only just echoing with a crackle of heat and fury. A crackle that was as to a roar to Darkness' experienced ears, for his brother was normally so reserved. "Yours, on the other hand, had you alone. Only worshipped in any extent by fools sacrificing each other to your Grimm, thieves and murderers, and the like. None of whom came to see _you_ in _your_ holds."

"One did, if you recall." He challenged, "She came to me to ask my favor and prostrate herself, and you took exception to that."

"She sought to trick you, Brother, and you know this." Light snapped hotly, now breaking free of even his own imposed discipline and cold visage. Swiftly, though, it was back and he spoke more, tone quieter and calmer. "And then she brought our own creations and servants against us when we punished her. Our own children turned against us, if you recall."

"_Your_ creations and _your_ servants you mean." Darkness corrected, raising an ethereal brow and grinning widely. "And besides, we both now know how your chosen _punishment_ turned out at its ultimate end. Don't we?"

"Brother…" Light warned, voice frosty in an ironic way, given his sun-like appearance. Around him, his asinine natural scape dimmed, the animals and insects skittering away from him like they sensed a storm. Which wasn't exactly an _inaccurate_ way of seeing what was coming, Darkness supposed. "Do not tread there again, my Brother. We have made amends for that between us, I thought."

"I have forgiven your little betrayal, yes." Light seemed to relax at the words even if his eyes narrowed at how he phrased them, but still those dim silver eyes watched him. Waiting for the other foot to fall, he supposed. A wait that Darkness wasn't going to so cruelly drag out. "What I have not quite gotten over is that you made us hypocrites in the eyes of those who might find out your indiscretions. Your change of mind to slight the woman and your… _Other_ ones."

"I don't know what you-"

"Do not think to lie to me, _Brother_.I see and know as much as you, through the eyes of _my_ children." He hissed, watching his beloved brother's mouth shut with a muted 'click' of shock and shame. Rare emotions from the deity, to be sure, and for a moment he felt a pang of guilt at having stirred them up. "My lovely creatures are weak to your powers, did you not think I would notice your creations being gifted enough of your authority to so easily destroy them?"

"Your beasts ran amok in the borderlands, Brother." He answered simply,voice low and cowed for once. Even if it was only temporary, it still told the tale of his brother's regret at them arguing over something. "My worshippers pleaded for my aid. It was gift those warriors with my blessed eyes or intervene myself. I felt you would prefer their being gifted a modicum of power to my direct, personal interference."

"Indeed, and I have known of that for centuries upon centuries yet I didn't care when it happened nor do I care now. No, as always I leave you to do with your followers as you see fit." The point was made and, begrudgingly, Light nodded understandingly and Darkness sighed. "And I demand the same courtesy, though I do appreciate your input. That's all."

"A fair demand." Light sighed, "Very well, then, I'll leave it be."

"That is all I could ever ask you to do, Brother." A bit rude to say, frankly, but he didn't much feel the need to _not_ barb him a bit here and there. It would be too unnatural for either of them if he didn't snipe. "Beyond our difference of approach, then, how do you feel things went?"

"Well enough." Light answered with a tired, weary sigh that spoke volumes of him being glad the _argument_ part was over. Then he smirked cheekily, and Darkness was already sighing before he started to speak, "I did find it quite adorable how you kept calling the synthetic 'girl' because you knew she wants to be one."

"That is not why I did it."

"I believe it is." Light argued, "I believe you are quite soft hearted, deep down, in fact."

With a flick, Darkness dispelled his brother's connection to him and he growled, flexing a finger. Distantly, he felt a mountain's death knell as it was annihilated and he sighed. Catharsis was a pleasant experience, really. And a needed one, after his brother started being cheeky with him or they quarrelled. At least this time, he'd not resorted to blowing up moons and planets to be rid of his fury.

Though, that gas giant could do with one less, and he _was_ rather bored…

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

_**Penny Soul Guy (Guest) :**_

**Depends on your interpretation of Penny, souls, AI sentience and so on. For me, I see no way Penny's data could get to Atlas with the CCT destroyed and thus a direct transmission impossible. The next step would be a nearby Atlesian storage place, but all of Ironwood's ships were destroyed, so THAT wouldn't work either. Another Penny could be built, of course, but without the memories, experiences and ideas Penny Mark I experienced, that would be a different end person. And even WITH THEM, she'd be a twin, not the original Penny.**

_**Mr Medan (guest) :**_

**I agree! That is all. **

_**Mercenary 9814 :**_

**Good! Because there will be lasers.**

_**Japanese Optics : **_

**Glad you're enjoying! Thank Espa.**

_**The Prime Cronos :**_

**Oh, but I **_**can**_ **be serious! I just tend to prefer not to be. XD**

_**Knightwolf :**_

**Not at all! I do too.**

_**Henri :**_

**Spoilers~**

_**Red Shirts :**_

**Abused in like… A bad way, or teasing? *concerned character builder noises***

_**Green the Ryno :**_

**Oh shit… OH SHIT! *pins that comment***

_**Omega Ultima :**_

**Nu, don't ship the robot loli. She needs protecc!**


	10. Chapter 10

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

_**Official Supporters:**_

_**Grand Priestess, **_**Luna Haile. **

_**High Priests, **_**Alvelvnor, Gage. **

_**Priests, **_**The Impossible Muffin**_**, **_**Xager the Chaos King.**

_**Adeptus, **_**Private Wilger**

_**Ze Nope Rope, **_**Kaiser Snek, Snekiest Snek**

_**Acolytes, **_**DigiDemonLord**_**, **_**Stonecold**

_**Initiates, **_**Greg Gibson, Espa Cole**_****_

_**If you want to be on the Supporter list, PM one of us for details or join our private server for details. Hope you enjoy reading my stories, please leave me a comment to let me know if you did, or where I can improve. Link here, where able to be seen : **__** /2UZncAm**_

_**Second link here, remove spaces and it SHOULD work : D iscord . gg (slash) kfhkfUb**_

_**I have a kofi account now, too, under this name for those interested.**_

_**Beta : **_

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

_**The last chapter was short because the two scenes I wanted before this chapter were way faster than expected, and I don't like the feel of a timeskip **_**in** _**a chapter's middle so I figured I'd run straight on into this one. Be warned, if that label applies here, that going forward Shepard will add to the small list of people getting POV segments. **_

_**Enjoy~!**_

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

Mordin's Clinic was a moderate affair as far as she was willing to describe it, but a place Pyrrha was more than glad to find on the station. Between Garrus' fighting for the common man throughout Omega as Archangel to Mordin's free, if small, clinic she had gotten to see something new and unique. At least, new and unique for Omega and what she understood it as. Charity, honor, kindness and duty were displayed here and there, with the Turian she'd not spoken to since she met him on the night he shot her. And seeing all of these things had done her good, restoring in her a faith in people she'd felt growing tenuous and ropy of late.

Minus the getting shot part, of course, though she didn't much mind _that_ since her Aura had taken the blow.

The clinic itself was simple, with a defensive setup that had her at the same time comforted and paranoid. Why Mordin had designed it that way, she didn't know and likely never would, but it was defensive. A heavy door with a camera over it let into a curved hallway, with a sharp curve that guards could take cover behind - and had, once or twice, in the week and change she'd been there for - with an enclosed security checkpoint stocked with rifles and ammunition for those inside.

Past that was a large enough waiting and admissions area, with a handful of Loki mechs for added protection that she… _Tried_ to ignore, as best she could.

The welcoming area was a simple affair too, though, with iron benches to sit on and tired volunteers taking complaints and helping people around as best they could. Most, now, were Humans due to the Plague, but she saw an Asari now and again, serving as a doctor for the clinic. One of five, in as many medical rooms with a couple storage ones for supplies and, rarely but regretfully, the bodies of those that couldn't be saved, waiting to be toted off for disposal.

Luckily, she thought as she pulled open the door into the little hallway that led into the clinic, she and Penny didn't work there.

"Nikos! Penny! Good you're finally fuckin' here." Adrian, the Human on guard today with enough energy to talk, called as soon as they saw it. Pushing off the wall to the side of the security booth, the man was armored in old, black combat gear and fatigues, and grinning like a child in spite of the salt and pepper hair and stubby beard, left bare since he didn't have a helmet. "Been quiet enough today, least 'round here. How's things up near your little stop?"

"Fine enough." Pyrrha answered simply, thinking of the little one-room squat they'd been given to camp in. It wasn't ideal, but there was a shower at the clinic, and Mordin kept them fed while they did their good work, so she supposed all was well as she could expect. "The Blue Suns are… Rather polite, really, once they realize you work here."

"Plague there yet?"

"No."

"What about fighting?" The security chief asked, turning to let them follow him into the clinic, past sick and coughing aliens lined on the benches and waiting for treatment. "Been getting bad at the edge of the gang-lines, and you're near enough. Looters? Threats? You know you can take a spot here, overnight. I stay in the locker room most nights, now."

"We are perfectly safe, thank you, Friend Adrian!" Penny chipped in, waving eagerly with both hands as they entered the main room of the clinic. Coughing, exhausted patients and beleaguered nurses smiled as they passed, cheered by the bright eyes and beaming smile she offered them. "Most of the residents in our area evacuated back before the quarantine was put into full effect. And the Blue Suns are a workable police force. They respect us and escort us through the area until we get outside."

"Still?"

"'The doc is crazy, but I hear he has a cure, so you best keep him safe.' That's what they say, walking us down." It was because of that fight, she knew. Far enough ago people didn't fawn anymore, but something mercenaries would no doubt pay attention to. "They want Mordin safe, so he can treat them too when the time comes."

Though if they thought she could handle herself so well as to be important, she questioned sending two rifleman for escort duty.

"That's one thing I don't get, really." Adrian sighed, running fingers through his hair while he pulled the armor off and stuffed it into one of the old, rusty lockers in the dingy locker room. Giving the two women a look of confusion, with a cocked smile to boot, he asked, "Why are the Suns still here? Mercenaries like to play cop, but why are they doing it now? With the Plague around?"

"Ask them, I suppose." She shrugged, stepping back so another one of the security officers could slide by, dropping his chestplate in a locker as he sluggishly walked by. Once he was gone, she continued, "But as Penny said, up there towards the quarantine border is quiet enough for comfort. Down here is where the worries are, with the gangline so close."

"Well, I'm out. You two keep an eye out, been hearing gunshots for a while. Pretty loud, too." He gave them each a nod and a smile, stepping past and towards the door with a backward wave. "Would stay and chat, but the missus would have words about me bein' late to get home for chatting up two lil' cuties. Right?"

"We heard them as well." The staccato was unmistakable, foreign rifles and technology or not. "We'll protect this place, do not fear. How goes work on getting the cure ready for all species?"

"Turians and Asari are golden, but we roll it out without treatments for Batarians and Krogans too and there will be hell to pay." The man sighed, shaking his head tiredly and checking his pockets to make sure he had everything. Offering a last smile and a wave, he pushed the door open, "You girls be safe, now. I'll see ya again at shift change."

Without another word, eager to leave rather than impolite she knew, he tugged the door open and vanished. Exchanging little smiles, the two women opened the door right beside it, pushing into the security booth and taking a seat. As always, after a couple quiet minutes, Penny was the first to speak.

"Do you think we will be needed today?" She asked, giving Pyrrha a look beside her. Pyrrha hummed her question, and Penny offered in the same bright voice as always. "The fighting has been getting closer daily. At the current rate of expansion, it should be just outside the door by the end of the day. I am combat ready, but if we fight people… Krogan won't walk away."

"Worried?" Pyrrha certainly was, to say the least, but she smiled regardless to put on an air of confidence. All the better to calm her younger comrade, and something she'd been taught growing up in Mistral. "I've fought Krogan and been told they are the strongest, physically speaking. And the most durable as well. Avoid direct concussive blows and you'll win any fight you come into."

"Fighting I do not fear. However, I have never taken a life." The android answered gently, smile slipping away at the word. After a moment of staring at nothing, her bright eyes turned to Pyrrha and she asked, "What do I do, if a Krogan refuses to relent? I do not like the idea of taking life."

"Neither do I, Penny." Even if she had already, as odd as that was to think on with her victim talking to her. Sighing, she shrugged, "I suppose we will have to do what we must, to defend this place."

"Mhm." Penny nodded, "We will. Friend Mordin is nice, and I will protect his place for him like he asks."

"Yeah…" She smiled, and then let out a sigh as she relaxed into the old, rusted chair as much as she could manage. Which wasn't much, frankly, but she didn't really feel a need to make a point of complaining about it. "He's a good man, alien or not. How are you coping with the whole 'alien' aspect, by the by?"

"I am well." Penny nodded, seeming to grow excited as she turned to the Mistralian and started bouncing on her seat. With a tired, but nonetheless completely content, sigh Pyrrha settled in for her to ramble and smiled. "They are all so interesting, though. Did you know Turians are not based on the same amino structure people are? Simply touching a Turian's bare skin could cause you to break out in a rash!"

"Is that why they wear layers like that?"

"Yes. Turians wear layers due to their close interactions with non-Dextro races, and thus the propensity for severe allergic culture shocks from incidental contact." Penny explained, talking as much with her hands as with her words. Gently, she poke Pyrrha's armored stomach and grinned, "Just that, and you'd have an itch. And a red spot, too, and not from the pointy talon bit."

While she rambled, Pyrrha kept a close watch on the door. Or at least as close as she could manage, with the little android rambling on in her ear. She didn't mind it, of course, simply smiling and humming as the girl rattled on amicably. It was nice to have her there, even if she kept remembering the sight of circuits and limbs sparking and flying. Her own miseries, though, and not anything she'd let cause Penny to be sad for even a moment.

A little discomfort was nothing after what she'd done to her, accident or not.

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

"You're clear, you can go on in. Aria's already expecting you." The bouncer said, eyeing the well-armed Zaeed for a moment before turning predatory Turian eyes on Miranda. The Cerberus symbol, her Predator on her hip, or something less savory, Shepard wasn't sure. Regardless, the Turian shrugged sharp, armored shoulders and added a clipped, "Weapons on your waist inside the club."

"We understand." She assured him, giving him a reassuring pat on the shoulder and making a show of her Mantis on her back. "Wouldn't do me much good, such close quarters, anyway."

"No, it wouldn't." The Turian noted her Predator on her waist with an eye, then met her gaze to make a point, and jerked his head towards the door. "Name's Talon in there and to you, Commander. You are her, right? _The_ Commander Shepard?"

"Yeah, that's what they tell me." The red-haired woman nodded, offering a polite smile and shrugging, playing the diplomat as she was wont to. Or as her job had always been, at least. At a look, Miranda grabbed Zaeed by the forearm and made an excuse for them to walk off, towards the landing cars. "Been off in deep-cover for a while. I wasn't told the cover story they were putting up for me. Is it true they said I…?"

"Died? Yeah, it was all over the ExtraNet." The Turian gave his fellow a look and the Krogan nodded, recognizing her as the 'VIP' she'd been told she was being treated as after charming the Batarian a bit. Turning, they moved away, standing by a railing beside the club, and he raised a glowing arm. "Here, see? 'Normandy Attack, the Commander goes Down With Her Ship'. Still doin' conspiracy articles on it."

"Figures, yeah. And this time, it'll be the truth, too. That'll be fun… What kind are they makin' up?" She asked, leaning over his shoulder to pretend to read it. '_Diana Allers, but I don't see any conspiracy here… Just talking about me.' _"This one seems normal enough, though."

"I like her 'cuz she just states the facts. She has an opinion section for her own thoughts, though. Here." With a flick of a talon, the Turian scrolled down for her and let her see it. A smiling image of an attractive young woman met her, but the Turian didn't play the video, instead just explaining. "She likes to say that you were probably off on some mission, if you were alive. She wouldn't say if she believed you were, though."

"Probably trying to avoid being wrong in either case. Reporters do that a lot more than you'd think, feigning a lack of opinion and coming out with a 'as this reporter suspected' only when they know the truth for sure." She shrugged, the armor of her shoulder clanking as she did and drawing the Turian's eye to her _technically_ falsified N7 insignia.

His gaze lingered and she grinned, seizing an opportunity to ingratiate herself to a potential contact.

"So what do you think?" She smiled, cocking a hip and pressing a fist to it in a veneer of confidence and charisma, smiling lopsidedly to sell it, "Am I real, or a fake? The Batarian scanned me, said I was the real deal as far as he and Aria were concerned. What do you think?"

"Why does it matter what I think?" A spiny eyebrow steepled with the question and he clarified, waving a taloned hand towards the large door. "I'm just a bouncer, Ma'am. What I think doesn't matter 'cept when I'm deciding if someone comes in or not."

"My line of work, you make friends where you can. And if we're making friends, I wanna know your honest opinion." And she needed to test him, to see if contacting her old team was worth even _trying_. If he was anything less than on board, she could reasonably expect the same amount of suspicion coming from cerberus channels and a Cerberus ship calling out or carrying her in to see someone. "Am I the real deal, you think? Savior of the galaxy, and all that?"

"Looks like it, yeah. And I mean, you passed the GenScan that Aria had run on you, so…" He shrugged, lukewarm as she'd feared, and seemed to flinch when her mask fell and she scowled. She masked it in a small smile before he could react, though, and he asked, "Was that, uh, all you needed, Commander? If Aria finds out I kept you from going to see her, she'd have my hide."

"Actually, I was wondering if you'd tell me about that plague." She pressed, folding an arm under her bust and leaning her elbow on it, tapping an armored finger to her chin and looking off towards the passageway that she knew lead to it. EDI had her advantages, regardless of how she felt about the surprise AI thrust on her. "Heard it was pretty bad, but didn't target _Humans_ or _Vorcha_. Any idea why?"

"Ask a Batarian, it's cuz Humans made it." The Turian scoffed, though, and shook his head. When she raised her eyebrow, drumming a long finger on her chin thoughtfully, the Turian started to explain. "Doesn't make sense for Humans to make it if Vorcha would be immune, too. Those little shits work for the 'Pack, and the 'Pack holds a lot of the slums. The Humans are getting thrashed over it, if they haven't left or let the Suns take up protecting them."

"The Blue Suns are protecting people? Like, _the _Blue Suns, I mean. Drug runners and security guys, those Suns." She raised her voice just enough for Zaeed to hear her, and saw him turn. But she gave a little shake of her head and held a finger up. He missed the signal but Miranda didn't, grabbing his arm and saying something that had him wait. "Doesn't seem their style, does it?"

"On Omega, there isn't a police outfit. Gangs slice up the territories and long as they enforce the Queen's law, they're left alone. Suns do that like anybody else, and a lot of people sign up just to do that here with them and Eclipse." The Turian shrugged, then, and waved a taloned hand towards the Quarantine Zone's only entrance in the distance with a sigh. "Quarantine went up, their men went in to keep the peace, the 'Pack in there lost their shit. It's a warzone on the lower levels, and if Solus hadn't cured Turians in the Suns so they could shelter the refugees, the 'Pack would be running the show and ripping people apart."

"Huh. Guess things out this way are different than Alliance space after all." It made sense why some would come out here, in that case. Or, well, made _more_ sense she supposed. Just running from the law and seeking adventure had been more than enough for plenty, she was sure. "Are things bad in there?"

"Aria had to replace some Quarantine guards with her own people a while back, since the Suns were losing people." To the Plague or the fighting it had caused, he didn't say, and she had a suspicion that was because it was either to _both_ or he didn't know. A dry spot in her well of information, she supposed, moving on when he started talking again. "Hey, you're… Why are you askin' about the 'Zone, anyway?"

"My missions turned from a cold and quiet one to a hot and violent one pretty quick." She gestured to Zaeed with a gentle jerk of her head and the Turian nodded, knowing a hired, _experienced_ gun when he saw one. Smiling apologetically, she went on, "You're Turian, so you get that I can't get into it…?"

"Yep, I very much do." The alien laughed, shaking its head wryly and clicking its mandibles in a friendly display, "I can do without the death squads, yeah. I know how the Hegemony handles its secret business, can't imagine the Alliance or the Council are much better for people knowin' what they shouldn't."

"Well, I need Mordin's help with something. And now you told me where to go and what is going on…" She took a step and turned, giving him a roguish smile and a nod. His eyes widened in realization that she was leaving and she called to him, bouncing on a heel as she turned, "Tell Aria I'll be back once I know Mordin is safe and secure. Operational security meant I needed speed!"

"B-But she'll be pissed!"

"I'll buy her a drink, then!" She laughed, turning grave as she started walking towards the doors that lead to the quarantine zone and her team fell into step with her. Her arm snapped up and she connected to the _Normandy_, barking, "EDI, get your hacking software running. I want a message sent to the Quarantine guards ordering them to let me through."

"Yes, Commander." The AI answered, "It will take but a moment."

"She'd have let us in anyway ya know." Zaeed pointed out, not complaining as they stepped through the door and rounded a corner, heading towards a guard as he brought an arm up to check his message from 'Aria'. "Why the tricks and shit?"

"Aria wants me to come and bend the knee, give her respect before she _allows_ me to do as I want." She grinned, rolling her shoulders and getting ready for the fights she expected to come soon enough. There was always a fight wherever she went, after all, and she certainly didn't expect a wartorn, Plague ridden set of slums to be much different. "Let her find out I left and not be able to do anything. We get Mordin, show her not to fuck with me, and _then_ we make nice looking for Archangel."

"Unless, of course, he ends up being killed by the mercenaries hounding him." Miranda helpfully pointed out while they muscled past a disgruntled looking checkpoint guard and an agitated woman in dirty, ratty clothes.

Neither were worth their time, at the moment at least. And besides, _both_ would accept apologies later if she made an excuse of dealing with the Plague. That guard had mentioned Mordin had a cure of sorts set up, for Turians at least, so she was willing to bet he had the rest dealt with too. And for that bet, she was willing to make a show of rushing to protect the people, and letting Aria step on the landmine of bitching about her moving to curtail a literal plague that could kill most of the station if she wanted.

Fuck, it was good to be back.

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

The first hour had passed by mostly peacefully, aside from the occasional wounded Suns soldier walking through the door or Plague victims coming in. Soon, though, things began to take a turn as the sounds of fighting worsened and grew nearer. More wounded, more sick, and occasionally even a 'Pack thug they had to fend off and send packing. Now, the Blue Suns were holding a barricade down the street from the clinic, protecting it and holding their ground while the clinic handled the wounded sent their way.

Pyrrha helped the wounded in, so Penny could watch the door, since between them _Penny_ was more able to tie up and disarm a fighter with less exertion.

"Doctor Solus!" Pyrrha called out as she staggered in through the door that lead out to the little passageway, a wounded, wheezing, blue-armored Turian hanging off her. A nurse, old and grey haired with a soft smile for the Turian in spite of his hazy eyes and bleeding side, took his weight on his other side to help her and led the way as she toted him further inside, "Where is Doctor Solus? We have a wounded Turian with the Plague, he needs treatment for both."

"Table three. Nurse, start stripping armor." Solus ordered as they entered his working room, four beds pressed against the walls to either side with laboratory equipment shoved on the other side of the beds. He saw Pyrrha looking and offered rapidly, "Cure complete. Now only need application method."

"Wait, the cure is _finished_?" Mordin nodded, looked over the soldier and then turned to leave, apparently satisfied his personal attention was unneeded. Quashing her momentary relief, she refocused and turned to the nurse helping her lift the Turian onto the bed where he slumped down finally. "Do you need any help, Ma'am?"

"I am quite fine, dear. I will tend to him, you help the doctor." The old woman said simply, starting to work at stripping the armor off the limp, exhausted soldier. A turian came over with a large syringe full of a purplish liquid, and the gentle woman added, "You are more useful for what he needs, I suspect."

She didn't like leaving her to handle it all, even as she knew she wouldn't be any _real_ help aside from using her Semblance to rip armor off wounded patients. Which threw 'keeping what she was a secret' into all kinds of disarray for not much gain, even if the selfishness of that thought irked her. Deceit, even of the sensible varieties, never came easy to her because of her nature, but she was used to keeping her Semblance hidden.

Even if _that_ had been for a wholly different, arguably more selfish reason, it still came in handy here.

"Doctor, what can I-"

"Need dispersal mechanism for airborne cure." The Salarian rattled off, leaning over an unconscious Batarian on the table in front of him. The four-eyed alien groaned and writhed, but mordin ignored the motions and pressed a hand against his chest, pulling a long needle out of its arm and tossing it into a bin. "Arrived too late for Batarian cure strain. Will not make it. Done all that I can."

"Are you okay…?"

"No. But have to be. Need to work. Someone else could get it wrong. Now then, we have work to do." The alien rounded on her suddenly, arm up and glowing as he projected a map of the slums. A long Salarian finger pointed far and away from where they were and he explained. "The air filtration system. From there, the cure can be disseminated to the entire station."

"That would save everyone, yes. Treat the entire slum all at once, and save so many lives." Pyrrha nodded, waiting for the request she already knew was coming. The way he was looking at her, with a small grimace, told her what he would want.

"Will you go?" He asked simply, rushing into an explanation before she could answer, "I have to stay here. Treat wounded, stabilize infected, prevent worse casualties. Am also lacking shield unit. And need Penny for security. You would be alone."

"I'll go, Doctor." Penny would understand needing to stay behind, and she didn't have a concern to that end. Smiling she tried to reassure them both, "I can do this, Mordin. You can trust me to see it done."

Duty demanded she try at least, and there was no Maiden to get in her way this time. Still, when mordin handed her the heavy metal cylinder and she pulled the strap around her shoulders, she felt anxious. But with a sigh, she rolled her shoulders and turned away from the already busily working doctor to head on her way. Her own anxieties didn't matter, after all.

A Huntress had a duty to help people, whenever asked to.

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

_**Knightwolf :**_

**Beyond these two, Ii'm unsure I want any Remnant folks showing up. Further, even if I do, I want ones these two have relationships with. Apologies.**

_**Prime Cronos :**_

**Oi! No booli robot loli. Also, Pyrrha is already a bit more conniving and secret-keeping than normal. She is changing, though she'll never **_**change**_ **if you know what I mean.**

_**Angry Santo :**_

**Darkness has thus far been my favorite character to write.**

_**Omega Ultima :**_

**Generally speaking, 'loli' refers to petite characters with small proportions and cute behaviors. So Penny would be a loli, especially since age tends to not matter. I was joking about not shipping her. I ship her myself, with Ruby specifically.**

_**Helljumper :**_

***writes that down***


	11. Chapter 11

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

_**Official Supporters:**_

_**Grand Priestess, **_**Luna Haile. **

_**High Priests, **_**Alvelvnor, Gage. **

_**Priests, **_**The Impossible Muffin**_**, **_**Xager the Chaos King.**

_**Adeptus, **_**Private Wilger**

_**Ze Nope Rope, **_**Kaiser Snek, Snekiest Snek**

_**Acolytes, **_**DigiDemonLord**_**, **_**Stonecold**

_**Initiates,**_ **Greg Gibson, Espa Cole**_****_

_**If you want to be on the Supporter list, PM one of us for details or join our private server for details. Hope you enjoy reading my stories, please leave me a comment to let me know if you did, or where I can improve. Link here, where able to be seen : **__** /2UZncAm**_

_**Second link here, remove spaces and it SHOULD work : D iscord . gg (slash) kfhkfUb**_

_**I have a kofi account now, too, under this name for those interested.**_

_**Beta : **_

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

"Three humans, military lookin' outfit. Narius cleared 'em, hold fire." One of the Turian guards, if they could be called that with their shoddy equipment and near complete lack of any sort of armor, called out when they stepped into the light. Standing atop a shoddy barricade, he waved her through a door on her right and added a parting, "Narius called over, you're clear. Make sure you got ammo and meds, we got a stock in the room there."

"Thank you-"

"And check your fire." The Turian grunted snappishly, a fact Shepard was quick to forgive given the situation. "Suns are policing the streets, trying to help civilians out of harm's way and prevent the Plague spreading."

"And how are they doing that, exactly?" She asked, resting a hand on her Predator comfortably and giving the man a look.

"Burning the bodies, sealing up buildings full of loot so looters don't get at 'em, helping the sick that can _be_ helped to Doc Solus." The Turian shrugged then and kicked a seat she couldn't see around before plopping into it and sighing tiredly. "One that can't be helped, well… Bullets are faster than the plague is, and we don't want it spreading because they wandered off in a daze."

"Sounds pretty fucked out there, yeah. Seen _kinda_ similar before myself, but… Yeah, I got it." She nodded, taking a deep breath and sighing, turning a gaze on Zaeed leaning against the wall by the way they'd come in. the man sighed and rolled his eyes, already knowing why she was staring at him even before she spoke the word, "So don't shoot the Suns, at least unless they shoot at us first. Got it."

"Channels with 'em are kinda fucked too. Lines are down, the Suns pressed for volunteers to bolster their numbers, and with the 'Pack running mad..." The guard nodded, leaning over and drawing a small, old looking walkie-talkie from behind the barricade and pitching it to her. "_That_ is dialed into the channel they're all using out there, has an Omni link for you to run your line through."

"Thanks, it'll come in handy, I'm sure." Linking the lines was as easy as latching it to her hip and running a scan for nearby networks, then having her communication line link to it automatically. For safety, she ran a passive scan and then pinged EDI, to make certain it was secure. "Sure you don't mind us stocking up? I wouldn't want you to run any risks if they come this way…"

"Ammo's the Blue Suns' stuff, not ours." The Turian waved her off, reclining and flicking open an Omni-Tool display. "Mostly we pop shots at civvies with crummy little pistols, shoddy Predators and Shurikens and the like, to keep 'em on the other side of the border or in their homes. Nothing big enough to need as much stock as we got, and the Suns won't know any better."

"Stealin' anything from the Blue Suns tastes sweeter than any kind of pie this side of the grave." Zaeed grunted, already past her and through the door. She could hear him rifling through things and rolled her eyes when he shouted back, "I'm stealin' all their damn grenades!"

"Thanks for your help, we're going to get on our way." the Turian only nodded, clearly tired and just as clearly more than done with their conversation, distracted instead with whatever he was reading on his Scroll. Turning, she gave a jerk of her head and grunted, "Let's go, Miranda. And be ready to toss up a barrier-bubble if we need it, even if we can't shoot out of it I want to be able to get to cover."

"I can maintain a barrier that lets you shoot out." She assured her, following the woman past Zaeed and towards a sealed door with two more Turians guarding it.

One swiped a card over the door and it hummed, sliding open with a dull pneumatic hiss and chime. Inside was a set of stairs leading down into gloom and, distantly, a dull and ruddy orange color. Like fire or emergency lights like the station seemed to have, dull and orange and clearly made for different eyes than Humans. Humans thrived under a more red light than orange, but then, the station had existed for longer that Humanity had been space faring.

"Zaeed front, Miranda take the middle, barriers ready on you two." She ordered, lifting her Predator and sliding behind them fluidly and naturally, the way she'd always been trained to. "I have the rear and the range. Copy?"

"Clear copy." The woman grunted simply, sliding as naturally into military decorum as Shepard had. Together, their gazes landed on the mercenary between them and the man sighed.

"Yeah, I got the goddamn front." The man grunted, lacking any such military decorum as he strolled in and down the steps, Avenger hanging across his chest comfortably. "Try not to fall too far behind, ladies."

Together, they proceeded down into the gloom and, soon enough, the acrid smell of smoke, death and burning flesh. Together, they came out on a wide open courtyard, piles of bodies in old planters in the center burning while blue-armored men and women of several species watched. They had their backs to them and she saw Zaeed tense, Avenger half rising on some distant, compulsive instinct.

An instinct she wouldn't let him act on.

"Blue!" She called, the three mercenaries spinning on their heels and snapping their own mish mash of rifles up, still and level on them as the two lither Humans spread out away from the sturdier Turian. Raised her hand, she stepped forward and nodded, "Blue. We're blue, cleared to come in."

"Three Humans, black armor and red hair, one looking like a dancer, and a guy with more scar than face." The Turian rumbled in a deep, warbling voice as its rifle came down. With a wave of his hand, the other two did the same, and one turned and walked towards the way out of the little courtyard on the opposite side stiffly. "Sorry about the guns, you startled us. And with how everything is, well… things are Tense."

"Yeah, I get that." She nodded, watching the Human kneel beside a distant Batarian and reach out for him, only to have the alien flail and shout at her. "What's up with him?"

"Ah, yeah, him." The Turian sighed, turning and nodding at the Human who, in spite of the Batarian's resistance, kept trying to get a hand on the alien. Shaking his head, the Turian shrugged, "Our job is to get the sick who can be treated to Mordin. Thing is, this racist fuck thinks since we've got Humans on our side, we just want to kill him."

"I'd think you could just shoot him if you did." Miranda commented, sarcastic and sardonic as she ever was. Not something she enjoyed about the woman, but then, she _was_ Cerberus…

"Just knock him out then, if he already sees you as wanting to hurt him." Shepard shrugged, rolling her eyes when the Turian just stared at her and didn't respond. Instead of arguing, she simply walked by, striding towards the Human and the Batarian without a care in the world. Gently, she tugged the Human away by the arm and knelt, smiling, "Hey, so, uh, I hear you aren't being very cooperative with the nice boys in blue trying to take care of you. That right?"

"You Humans did this." The alien wheezed weakly, sweating far more than any Batarian had any right to and foggy in all four of his beady eyes. "Why would I-"

She didn't give him the chance to finish, fist slamming into his jaw and snapping his head to the side. As he sagged, she rose and gave the Blue Suns watching her a beaming smile. "There, no more struggling. Get him patched up, will you? We have to get going, but we'll hope to see you there."

"Well, Commander, gotta say it." Zaeed grunted as he slid by to take point again, Avenger still hanging lazily across his armored chest. "That was pretty goddamn intense, even for me."

"Lock it down, and take formation like before." The woman grunted simply, waiting until the two Humans moved ahead of her before sighing and rolling her shoulders. Following them, she grunted a simple aside, "Zaeed, double time alert march. We can't risk losing Mordin to this mess."

Stacked up in a column, they continued on their way through the slums, passing red-locked doors, boarded windows and piles of acrid smelling, smoldering bodies. They passed more Suns too, tired, some bleeding from bandaged wounds and others leaned against walls and far too still for anyone's comfort. Some turned to her as she passed them, offering nods of simultaneous greetings and farewell before turning back to tending to their own business, whatever it might be.

All the while, it was dead silent, without anything more than the crackling of fires, distant gunshots, and the occasional patter of hidden, harmless feet inside locked buildings for company.

When they reached the clinic, they knew they had as much for the sparking, intermittently glowing sign designating it on the wall above the clinic as for the entrenchments outside. Barricades had been erected to either side of the clinic's front entrance, made up of scattered furniture as much as sandbags and metal barricades. Gates large enough for a single Krogan to squeeze through had been set directly across from each other, to allow passage through from one side of the winding slum street to the other, with two Human guards in rattier looking Blue Suns armor standing to either side.

"Commander Shepard?" One asked as they approached, the other guard nervously checking her shoddy looking Vindicator as he stepped forward. Beaming a disarming smile for the young man, she slid past her two teammates and nodded, the man murmuring a surprised, "By the Spirits it is you…"

"Isn't that a Turian thing?" Miranda asked quietly, echoing Shepard's own surprise even if the Commander hadn't wanted the question _broached_.

"My parents died when I was little. 'Round five or so, I think, but it was a long time ago so I forget sometimes." The man shrugged, and then gestured at the woman behind and to the side of him. "Turian by the name of Vanius Acantius adopted us when the Suns found out. So… Yeah."

"Neat." She smiled, cocking her head to the side, "How do you know it's the real me, though?"

"H-He has a poster of you on his wall, from your N7 photoshoot back before you became a Spectre. He'd know you if he saw you." The woman offered, earning a low, embarrassed groan from the young man as he stepped aside and the young woman chuckled, waving her in. "Go on in, Commander. I'm sure you're, uh, you know. Busy. Places to be."

With a polite nod, and a grimace at just how young these _literal guards_ were, she stepped by and made her way inside.

"Hello there!" A small girl dressed in green and grey crowed as soon as they stepped through the doorn, standing on the other side of a security partition and waving excitedly. Beaming a smile as they approached, she spoke quickly and exstatically, "I'm Penny Polendina, I run security. Which of you are dying, so I can warn the doctor?"

"Uh…" Shepard blinked, and then returned the smile brightly and warmly. Leaning down to more accurately get on the young girl's level, she smiled and spoke softly, trying to ease the girl into trusting her. "None of us, actually. We're here to ask Doctor Solus for help with something else. Can you tell him Commander Shepard is here to speak to him, please?"

"Did you say… Shepard?" The girl asked, head slowly cocking to the side when Shepard nodded. The girl blinked slowly, then, and nodded, waving a hand towards the door, "Go on in. He ought to be in room three. You should be able to find him readily enough."

Giving the odd girl a last smile, the commander turned and pushed through the door, putting thoughts of her aside and turning to ask an orderly, "Where is room three, if you don't mind?"

The tired old woman paused in her work just long enough to turn and point at a hallway across from the entrance, and Shepard smiled a thank you as she left. As she walked, she let her eyes rove the rundown, exhausted clinic. Wounded mercenaries and civilians both lined the benches, cradling injuries or sleeping, and she could see distant bodies stacked behind a row of crates, awaiting disposal. Many were hacking loudly, too, no doubt sick with the plague and waiting on their turn for a cure, judging from the hopeful, impatient glances they gave the waiting staff whenever they skirted by them.

"Well ain't this a shit hole…" She turned a scowl on Zaeed and he shrugged, rolling his eyes and grunting, "What? S'a goddamn shit hole, and everyone here knows it."

"That they have managed even this much in the grips of a plague, with no state apparatus to aid them, and left completely to their own devices is itself enough to earn respect." Shepard's eyebrows rose at Miranda, of all people, praising aliens and the woman grimaced. Hushed for obvious fears and stepping closer to the former Spectre, the woman grumbled, "Cerberus prioritizes Human achievement, Commander. We don't simply ignore the achievements of the other races."

"Can't steal 'em if you ignore 'em, so yeah." She heard Miranda huff and raised a hand, demanding silence as they rounded a corner and entered a treatment room that had been converted somewhat into a lab as well.

The room was cramped, even as wide as it was, with two gurneys sporting corpses to one side and a wall packed with terminals to the other. In the middle of the room was a large analyzer of sorts, if she had to guess. Whoever had built it, she could tell, had scrabbled it together around a much more high end Salarian analyzer. On closer inspection, though, she saw that most of the machine seemed to not be doing anything, instead more… Hiding the Salarian component inside it in a way even her trained eyes very nearly missed.

Something she filed away for later, whether or not it would ever actually be useful or not, and then made herself move on from in spite of her inherent paranoia about hidden things.

"Doctor Solus?" She asked after a moment, the Salarian turning from the suspect console to nod to her in greeting. "I'm Commander Shepard, Citadel Spectre and-"

"Not a Spectre anymore. Registered deceased on private Alliance registries." The alien gave her a once over and turned, clasping his hands behind his waist and raising his ridged eyebrows in challenge and dismissal. Like someone who knew she knew that he knew what he was saying had merit and truth. "Not the ones they would keep falsified information on. Even for deep-cover operatives."

"I-I don't-"

"Also, here with Cerberus agent Miranda Lawson. Known quantity. Been absent from normal notice since shortly after your death. Zaeed Massani… Less so, but still known. Terminus exclusive for eleven years." The Salarian smiled to show he didn't mind her deceptions, whatever they were, and he went one, "Only want you to know where I stand."

"Well, I see that Cerberus' dossier on you wasn't making anything up about your brilliance, doctor." She smiled, impressed at his insightfulness and somewhat relieved that _he_ was who Cerberus had sent her to collect.

It of course made sense that cerberus wouldn't give her recruitment dossiers on anyone that wasn't fit for the job. But regardless, some validation helped her paranoia, to say the least.

"Look forward to reading it." He nodded, finally letting his smile slip and narrowing his eyes. Thinking, the alien folded his hands over his chest and raised his hand, tapping a ling finger against his chin in thought. "Commander Shepard working with Cerberus in the Terminus. Must have good reasons. But what? Plague too recent, too small scale. And Cerberus wouldn't care, Humans immune to the Plague."

"We're investigating the disappearing Human colonies in the Terminus, Doctor." Shepard prompted, offering him a small and charming smile when his eyes met hers. "We believe the Collectors to be involved, using some kind of… Organic weapon that inflicts paralysis. We need your help, Doctor."

As if on cue, the clinic's walls seemed to vibrate and the lights dimmed to a dull ruddy orange. Outside the room, she could hear the panicked murmuring of the sick, wounded and guards all.

"That was the air systems shutting down, Commander." Miranda murmured. Whose benefit she was talking for, Shepard had no idea, since it was fairly obvious by the _vents shutting down_ what the sound was. "We should take the good doctor and leave, Commander. Before the district suffocates, and us along with it.

"Ah." That explained why she'd mentioned it, actually, and made Shepard sigh tiredly as well. Turning at the waist, she gave the woman the single most 'disapproving mother' look she could manage and shook her head, "We're not leaving the district to suffocate and die, Miranda. And I'm disappointed in you for suggesting it."

"Heh." Zaeed sniggered, sounding and looking for all the world like a petulant sibling as he murmured a quiet, "You're in trouble."

"I can fire you." Miranda warned childishly, "It would be my pleasure to do so, as a matter of fact."

"I hate you both…" Shepard groaned, "I regret everything about bringing both of you."

"The air control unit is where I dispatched one of my guards with the airborne cure." Mordin interjected, still smiling pleasantly all the while, "Miss Nikos is a capable enough combatant. Watched her fight a Krogan Biotic in melee personally in fact. Most impressive, especially for a Human. She can handle whatever is there."

"Wait, she fought him one on one?" Shepard asked, genuinely stunned when the Salarian nodded. Turning to Miranda she asked, "You know anything about this, Lawson? A Human that can survive a firefight with a Krogan is-"

"It was melee, actually." Mordin pitched in, smiling pleasantly when, wide eyed and gaping like a fish, the woman turned to look at him again. "Fist to fist. I personally counted four separate, Biotic strikes that she received. Quite an interesting specimen, Nikos is. I have a video if you would like to see it. While we wait on the cure to be dispersed and the air system to be reinstated, I mean."

"And when they are?"

"I will accompany you, and leave the clinic in the hands of my trusted colleagues." The Salarian answered with a small, comforting smile. "But if you will permit it, I would like to suggest a couple of… Additions."

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

"Die!" The Vorcha snarled, leaping at her for all the world like a feral, mad Grimm, arms spread and razor claws aiming for her throat.

They never met it, though, even if her Aura would have made sure it wouldn't matter. Instead, she dropped her shoulder and crouched, nearly kneeling and then catapulting forward into the creature. It snarled in pain and fury, and she heard bones crack as it was hurled away to slam into the railing at the edge of the environmental control room. She paid it enough mind to see it slump, dead or unconscious, before she moved on to the next.

This one was somewhat smarter, if the term applied here, and didn't leap into the air like a mad beast. Instead, it dove for her hips, aiming to tackle her down like a sports player. That proved just as failing a strategy, though, the woman stepping to the side and spinning on a heel the same way the alien was flying, hurling her shield into the back of its head when it landed and recalling it smoothly back to her arm.

Just in time to catch a rocket on its smooth surface, the force pitching her back into a pillar that smarted but otherwise doing her no harm. Winded but easily recovering, she let her spear snap out to the side and shift, leveling her rifle on the offending alien and firing twice. The first round punched into the creature's rocket launcher, ripping off a hunk of it and leaving it a sparking and useless mess. The second puncture its shoulder and sent it reeling, wounded but alive, into cover before it shrieked and ran for its life.

In the quiet that followed, she took a deep breath and sighed, returning her weapons to her back and drawing out the sturdy little cure cylinder.

"Please be automatic… Please be automatic…" The little thing slid perfectly into an input slot on the front, spinning and clicking into place like it had been designed that way. "Which, knowing Doctor Solus, it very likely is."

After a few seconds, the terminal lit up and a bright green holographic button flickered to life over the top of the cylinder. Gingerly, and sending a silent prayer to the Dark Brother that she was doing this right and wishing she'd asked for instructions, she pressed the button. Around her, lights blared to life and the great turbines began to turn, delivering the needed air - and the cure with it - to those throughout the district.

Pleased, she let out a breath and turned, picking her way around unconscious Vorcha and making a note to send the Blue Suns this way when she got to the clinic. The cure was dispersed, and that couldn't be changed, but there was no stopping the Vorcha turning the air off again.

For now, though, she was content to walk back and pray not to run into more wayward 'Pack members.

The walk itself was quiet enough, those Vorcha left on the streets scattering when they saw her or easily beaten down for the second time around. The Krogan glared weakly, but luckily for her the Cure hadn't sunk in wholly yet, and so that was all they could do.

"Nikos." A Suns soldiers grunted when she reached their border again, or near enough now they were pushing the weakened Blood Pack back thanks to her breaking through their lines. With the Turian were a dozen other fresh looking soldiers, but they stopped for her and he asked, "I take it the fans comin' back on was you?"

"It was, yes." She nodded, stepping aside and nodding back the way she had come. The Turian's visored eyes followed her gaze and, quietly, she went on, "The way is clear, aside from sick Krogan and frightened Vorcha. You can move to secure it without a problem, and I wish you well in doing so."

"Thanks." The Turian jerked his head in a silent order and his men moved ahead, headed towards the environmental control unit. "The little tater tot was askin' us to send you her way when we left Mordin's."

"She was?" Pyrrha blinked, confused, "Why? Do you know?"

"Nah, I didn't ask and she didn't say. Figured it might be private, sorry, Nikos." The Turian shook its head and turned, waving a hand for his men to move ahead down the street of the slum. Raising his voice, he barked, "Take back what the 'Pack stole, resecure the environmental control sector, and get the Blood Pack out of our territory!"

"Good luck." She said, offering a farewell nod, "I should be going, to see what my friends needs of me."

"She said to hurry, too." The Turian offered, adding a final, "A bunch of soldiers were there earlier, and left with Doctor Solus. That probably has something to do with it."

It wouldn't take long to get to the clinic now she knew, with the way clear of hindrances and secured by wandering Blue Suns patrols. Checkpoints had been set up atop similar barricades as what had defended the clinic, but no one stopped her. Whether because they were checking for any traces of left over disease and didn't need to check a Human or because they knew her and weren't about to slow her, she couldn't be sure.

No sooner than she had stepped through the rear entrance did she feel a dense, small missile slam into her midsection with a cry of, "Friend Pyrrha! You are back and well. I am happy to see you again."

"Of course I am well, and I am glad to see you are as well." She chuckled, returning the automaton girl's hug and smiling as she stepped away and beamed up at her. Walking further into the clinic, she asked warily, "Where did Mordin go, Penny? I was told soldiers came and took him away. Is Aria up to something untoward?"

"Oh no!" Penny assured her brightly, "If she had been, then I would have beaten those soldiers into the ground. No one hurts my friends. Or your friends, because your friends are my friends too."

"Then what…?"

"Commander Shepard came and asked for his help, and as the clinic is running well enough now and the plague cured, he agreed to help her." The girl answered simply, giving Pyrrha a knowing look when wide, green eyes turned on her. Smiling still, the girl bounced excitedly on her heels, "Oh, I knew you would be excited! They escorted him to their ship, and said they would wait before moving to recruit their next target when we joined them."

"Such good luck…"

"We do have a god to thank for that, I believe." Penny smiled, looking up at the taller woman and adding, "But we should hurry. I don't want to keep them waiting."

Neither did the Mistralian Huntress and so, together and knowing that the clinic was safe now, they made their way out the front door and on their way. There was little time to dally, after all, though Pyrrha was already concerned with how to get in touch with Legion. The sad irony was that he had left barely a month past and now she had what he was looking for… Which meant that she needed to protect Shepard for him, then, and serve as a bridge when they finally did meet.

She had to pay him back, after all.

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

_**Everyone wish a big happy birthday to Espa, he's the commissioner for this story and a Supporter besides.**_

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

_**Arch Angel 319 :**_

**Glad to have it on offer for you!**

_**Amerdism :**_

**Excluding romance stories, I don't set pairings in stone. I find it constricting to do that, and don't feel it particularly makes for good stories when the romance would be a subplot instead of a main plot. It could be interesting, though, so while I won't confirm it I won't discount it either.**

_**The Prime Cronos :**_

**I agree completely. What people often forget is how plastic and utilitarian our moralities truly are.**

_**That One Random Dude :**_

**Why? This Shepard is an infiltrator type. A spy. Ninety percent of spy-work is piecing together what random people say to you, and employing a bit of charm to get more if need be. All she did was pause to chat up a guard and get information out of him.**

_**Omega Ultima :**_

**Canon doesn't **_**seem **_**to imply Aura can help against illnesses, but it also doesn't state it does. I'll read on it and think about it.**

_**Steel Rain 66 :**_

**Glad you're enjoying it!**

_**The Last Battalion :**_

**Spoiler alert, probably not well.**


	12. Chapter 12

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

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_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

"Ah, Shepard. Finally, I get to see the genuine article with my own eyes." The blue-skinned Asari commented with a smile as she entered the private booth, Miranda just behind her. The second smile was just as false as the first when the Asari crime lord registered the woman's presence and attire, all diplomacy at the barest level. "I was starting to get worried you'd gotten _lost_ somewhere along the way."

"No, I just felt some urgency in saving the good doctor, since there was a plague going on. You understand." Shepard gave her the same smile and, without waiting for an invitation, took a seat on the couch beside the door. Stretching an arm back along the back of the couch and reclining comfortably, she kept her smile steady and diplomatic, though her smile waned somewhat when Miranda didn't take the perhaps too subtly offered seat beside her, thus undermining the confident and relaxed aura she was trying to exude. "Sorry I didn't come see you first, though. I hope you weren't offended."

"Offended?" She raised a spined brow and smiled that same fake smile again, showing the barest _hint_ of teeth as a threat, "Why would I be offended, Commander?"

"Because I went into a district in your station without coming to see you first." Better to confront the issue on her own time rather than let Aria snake her way into it. Safer by far, to be sure. "I figured it might offend you, but as I said-"

"Yes, yes, you were in a rush to save the goody two shoes doctor from his clinic. I heard you the first time." The Asari's scowl told the commander that her play had worked, ruining whatever game of leverage the self-made monarch had aimed for. A small victory for the Commander, then. "And the answer to your question? Mildly."

"Oh?" As expected, but she smiled and blinked owlishly in spite of that. "Well, I'm sorry I offended you."

"You are?"

"Yes. Why wouldn't I be sorry? It wasn't intended." She nodded, letting the Asari's eyes rove over her and shifting uncomfortably under the appraisal.

A liar would always try to sit perfectly still, but she knew better than that. Anyone would squirm under someone's appraisal, and those who didn't were putting on airs for one reason or another. And in this game, the most likely reason would be that Shepard was lying, and meant offense. And giving a tell like that, regardless of if Aria already suspected it or not, or even meant to believe it and remember it going forward, could sink her plans. And given the scale that this game would, or _could_, play into in the future such a loss wasn't something she was very willing to stomach.

"I mean it, Aria." She said quietly, not moving from where she sat on the couch but nodding her head regardless. "I didn't mean to offend you. I only wanted to guarantee that I managed to get Solus' aid. If you knew how important my mission was, you'd approve."

"Would I now?" The Asari smiled, and Shepard already knew she'd misstepped when she let her head recline on her couch. "Then maybe, just maybe, you ought to tell me what it is you're doing. And maybe, _just maybe_, it'll be worth it. Like you said."

"Commander-"

"Miranda, go outside and wait for our other additions." She ordered simply, giving the woman a hard look when she didn't immediately move. "Make sure they are armed and ready for whatever the next leg of our operations here entails."

"Yes, Ma'am." She finally nodded, turning on her heel and taking her ordered leave.

"Interesting, you working with Cerberus." Aria pointed out, turning her head to watch the woman make her way to, and through, the main entryway. Turning back to give the woman a look, a spined brow rose, "Especially after everything you uncovered back in the day. What on this side of the afterlife could _possibly_ have motivated you to work with them of all people?"

"They… Saved my life, a while ago, when an op went south on me." The woman had a full body-scan of her, she knew, and if she compared it to older biometrics then she'd see the cybernetic replacements that she'd needed in her, er, _repairs_. "I met with the Illusive Man himself and he not only assured me those cells were break-aways, but provided records to prove it. And offered his unconditional funding and support if I stop the disappearances of Human colonies throughout the Terminus."

"I've heard about that particular problem." Aria nodded, "Fitting that Cerberus would step in since the Citadel and the Alliance don't seem to want to."

"Or can't, for whatever reasons, good or bad, that keep them from doing anything." The Citadel, she knew, was bound by treaties not to intervene. Add the diplomatic pressure of _that_ being applied to the Alliance since they held a seat now and it made sense. "I don't know and don't care. I've been authorized to work with them to deal with this by the people that matter."

"Which are?"

"Classified." She shrugged, smiling apologetically at the scowl she received. "Technically, I wasn't even allowed to confirm I'm working with Cerberus. Or that I'm alive, for that matter, though with the profile of what this job will entail I suspect that won't be on the table for long, now."

"I would expect not." The Asari agreed, giving her a once over and smiling knowingly. "But I suppose the injuries you referred to explain the _extensive_ cybernetics my body-scan from before found. Why, it almost seems you were rebuilt from the ground up."

"Nothing that extensive, don't worry about that." She lied, smiling through her teeth as she did and adding a short, harsh laugh for effect. "Cybernetics were needed to help accommodate some of my injuries and their complications, though. Extensively, like you said, but I'm still Duman deep down."

"Mhm." The Asari seemed convinced enough, or simply didn't care, and shrugged with her response to show it. "Any clues on who is making your colonies disappear, then? I would imagine so, if you are willing to work with Cerberus and they are willing to give you free rein with who knows what else. Not to mention your ship that _looks_ like the _Normandy_, but is clearly larger…"

"The Collectors are the ones taking the colonies." She answered, hoping the Asari would abandon other, more troublesome lines of questioning. Or take the hint that Shepard wouldn't be answering them, at least. "We have witnesses, biological evidence, and a few other things I'm not allowed to disclose. I will say, though, that the reason I rushed to save Solus and make sure he survived is because they employ some sort of… Biological stun weapon."

"Stun weapon?"

"Insectoid, we believe." She answered, "And through some mechanism, they disable a person's ability to move. How exactly, we don't know. But our witness saw them and says they were bugs. They touch you and suddenly, you can't move."

"And you're stuck until they take you to the goddess knows where… For them to do goddess knows what to you." At her nod, even the Asari seemed… Not quite vindictive as most would be, but perturbed at least. Which was probably the best she could hope for from a likely centuries old crime lord. "Fine, fine, I forgive you for rushing off without coming to see me. Solus' brilliance is probably a needed factor in stopping that."

"Crucially." She answered seriously, "Without him, we probably wouldn't be able to develop a countermeasure. And without that, fighting the Collectors would be suicide."

"Yeah, I bet." She nodded, resting her chin on a palm and her elbow on the top of the couch. With a sigh, she nodded again and waved a hand over her shoulder, "I had a sky-car held aside and ordered the gangs to hold on attacking Archangel in earnest until they had the manpower to win. Go now, I'll order them to finish this nonsense, and you can break them and escape."

"You have that kind of power?"

"Shepard, listen, I know you're too much of a girl scout to know, but…" Aria leaned forward and smiled, all teeth and frantic energy. "The queen always gets what she wants, or heads roll. They'll do as I say because they know I'll kill them _all_ if they don't."

"I see…" She stood then and nodded to the woman, half turning and adding, "Then I better get going. Before something happens to-"

"And Shepard?" Aria interrupted, standing herself and stalking across the little room they were in until the soldier was within reach. Gently, and without a care in the world for onlookers or Shepard's consent, she ran a hand down the side of Jane's face and smiled. "So pretty, especially for a soldier. And so soft, too. Would be such a shame…"

"What would be a shame?" She asked, disliking the scaled touch on her cheek but neither flinching or pulling away.

"You insulting my intelligence and assets ever again, and making an enemy out of me." She answered, hand sliding up to run fingers through her hair and then settle a palm on her shoulder. Still smiling, the woman finished with a simple, "Because you do it again, and I'll space you myself. And this time, even _Cerberus_ won't be able to find you."

_That_ sent a chill she couldn't quite hide, flinching now and blinking at the Asari's words. The woman only smiled, though, and turned to return to her seat.

"If you understand, then you can go. Now." The Asari's bright, pale eyes met hers over her shoulder and the woman cocked a hip, smiling confidently and _exuding_ authority. "You play the game well, Commander. But I've known people like you for centuries. And you lost this round. Well played, though."

And like that, she could feel the game ending, and with her the loser for a rare time in her life. How she reacted, she was sure, would decide their relationship going forward. And whether they _had_ one.

"I guess you called my bluff well enough, yeah." She nodded, knowing when she was beaten and being called out for it. "You still understand I won't volunteer information either way, though, I'm sure."

"I do."

"Then have a good day, Aria. And… Good game." Shepard nodded, turning and stepping out of the little room before Aria's laughter really registered. Taking in and letting out a deep breath, the commander shook her head and murmured, "Good game alright…"

She wasn't angry, though. Not even remotely. No, she relished meeting someone that thought and planned the way she did, and played the game so well. It would be fun playing the game with Aria, and a welcome distraction while she dealt with the Collectors, even if the alien woman was no less dangerous than the Collectors were.

"Did it go to plan then, Commander?" Miranda asked when she joined her, standing by the sky-cars and waiting on her commander and the rest of their unit. Smiling prettily, and pettily Shepard could tell, the woman added, "Seeing as you elected to boot me from the room, I imagine you handled Aria quite well without me, after all."

Shepard could only sigh her suffering at the question, and then soundly, and no doubt tellingly, ignore it entirely.

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

It didn't take long for the two Huntresses to find their way out of the slums and back to Afterlife proper, at the bridge between the poor and wealthy districts, as incredibly indistinct as that delineation tended to actually be. And regardless of her lack of license or authority to grant the title, she considered them both fully fledged since they had fairly fully _died_ in the line of duty. Deifically aligned and allotted resurrections notwithstanding, of course. It took almost as long to push their way through the meandering crown trying to get back into the slums, though.

As though they could unloot their homes by rushing back… Still, she understood the sentiment, even as she knew how pointless the effort was. And how frustrating it was to her own efforts to go the _opposite_ direction, through the rough traffic.

Still, closer to two hours after they left than one, she could feel the uncomfortably familiar heartbeat thrum of Afterlife. And the murmur of the bickering crowd and guards as the former tried to heckle their way in, and the latter tried to do their jobs. A couple who recognized her for her armor and bright, red ponytail raised hands in greetings, and the crowd followed suit for just long enough to realize she wasn't their ticket into the club. And not a moment beyond that, which was… Painfully typical, but not something she was about to express anything but apathy towards.

"There she is, Friend Pyrrha!" Penny said suddenly, grabbing her hand and tugging her along like a child, towards the parked sky-cars that the patrons - wannabe or otherwise - had used to get here. "That is Commander Shepard and a woman that was with her from before."

The former was… Well, essentially a carbon copy of the pictures Legion had shown her, and those she'd seen online, albeit somehow paler and with odd, almost luminescent scars around the edges of her face. Sleek, almost wiry but with enough muscle - and armor, of course - to not be quite _wiry_, but still less stocky or build than she was. More akin to Penny in build, really, now that she got a good look at the woman, albeit with longer legs and shorter, darker red hair. A stocky, long weapon rested on her back and, from Legion's own cache of weapons, she recognized it as a Mantis model. The orange and grey pistol, though, she recognized from _Mordin_ as a Carnifex, his favored weapon due to the Krogan presence around his clinic.

Because one needed _something_ to deal with heavily armored, thick Krogan hide, and Mordin didn't exactly have an Aura or Huntress training to let him keep up with them.

The other woman was both undeniably beautiful and undeniably less armed and armored, but stood still with a kind of confidence that itself urged caution from the Mistralian. Long raven hair, and a body built like a mix of Blake and Yang's, slipped into a tight white catsuit and, again like the duo, visibly rippling with lithe muscle and confidence in equal measure, but only carrying a couple small weapons. A Predator for one, she could tell, and something equally small on the other hip.

"That one's a Biotic..." She murmured, certain after her curious study of it after her… Mild defeat against the Krogan.

Still, not an enemy, she reminded herself she was half-heartedly resisting Penny's tugs, like a parent would a child. The redhead, Shepard she was certain, saw them in the corner of her vision and turned, pushing off the sky-car she'd been leaned against. Smiling politely, she opened her mouth to say hello, but lost that race handedly.

"Salutations, New Friend Shepard!" The little android cheered before Pyrrha could say anything, stopping next to the taller woman and beaming a smile. Offhandedly, as though she'd forgotten until that moment, she added a small, polite, "Hello, Miranda. How are you two doing?"

"Better now you're here." The more armored of the duo said with a wide smile, reaching out with a hand to ruffle the smaller woman's hair and turning a look on Pyrrha while Penny blushed and grinned, enjoying the simple affection. With that same smile, she asked, "And you must be Pyrrha Nikos. No?"

"In the flesh and iron, yes." She answered, resting a hand on her hip and watching Penny straighten as the woman stepped back, returning to leaning against the sky-car comfortably. "And you're Commander Shepard. Savior of the CItadel and all that. Yes?"

"The very same, in the flesh and willing to sign autographs if you ask me cutely enough." The woman nodded with a smile, gesturing with a hand at Miranda across from her. "This is Specialist Miranda Lawson, my… Contact, I guess that'd have to be the word for it, with Cerberus."

"Liaison." The woman corrected, offering a hand that Pyrrha shook and giving the android a small nod. "What do you know of Cerberus, Miss Nikos?"

"Not enough to have a real opinion, unfortunately." She shrugged, answering honestly and giving Penny a questioning look to ask if _she_ did. When the girl only shrugged in the negative, the Mistralian turned back to her. "Enlighten us, if you don't mind terribly. And we have the time, of course."

"Of course!" The woman smiled, something glinting in her eyes that put Pyrrha off even before she started actually _speaking_. "Cerberus is, simply put, an organization dedicated to the preservation and advancement of Humanity in every way. Technologically, politically, economically, whatever the case."

"And the other races?" She asked, laying a hand on Penny's shoulder to keep her still while the young synthetic watched the crowd behind them and listened to their conversation. "What of, say, the Turians? Salarians?"

"We-"

"If you aren't a Human, they don't care to help you unless you have something on offer." Shepard answered, giving the raven-haired woman a look and frowning. "They have a one track, completely racist mind."

"One, the term would be _speciesist_, Commander." Miranda offered haughtily, arms folded and an unamused, cocky smile spreading over her too-perfect lips. "Two, you speak as though favoring your own race and culture over a literally alien one is odd. Or something you can't understand."

"Understanding is one thing." Shepard answered dryly, "Just like I understand how disgusting your blatant speciesism is."

"Spoken like someone that fails to understand that _all_ races are the same in that respect." Miranda commented, sounding tired and bored of the topic already, but seemingly motivated to argue the point regardless. "Every species has its own government, after all. And every species' government cares about as much for those not of their own species as Cerberus does. Criticize if you like, but we are the norm, not the exception."

"Then the world is broken and needs to be fixed, if people like Cerberus represent the normal trend of policy making. And I'm not about-" Green eyes snapped to Pyrrha's own, suddenly, and the woman frowned. For a moment, she was silent, mouth gaping and unsure. Then it clicked closed and the woman sighed, "And I'm not about to have an ideological debate in front of two people I want to recruit. Souring them to an organization I'm working with? Not the brightest move."

"Nor is biting the hand that feeds you." Miranda pointed out coldly, a vicious sort of pitch to her voice that ate at the Mistralian's ears like acid laced along each word. "Be that funding for your mission, food in your belly, or your _pulse_. All offered and accepted with a Cerberus brand right on the tin."

"Are you done?" The more armored woman asked implacably, offering naught but a small, thin smile for the other woman. Miranda scowled, but didn't respond, and Shepard added coldly, "Because we have a job to do, and arguing about your morality, or lack thereof, isn't part of it. You want to bicker, you know where I sleep."

The woman didn't respond aside from a small huff and, a moment later, a smaller nod. Still, the commander waited and the two Huntresses with her, having watched the exchange curiously and watching now for the same reason. Both of them, she was sure in spite of Penny's ever-present, beaming smile of pure, undiluted joy, gauging their new acquaintances. And their new acquaintances' opinions on certain rather obtuse topics neither new well, as well as how they handled an argument.

Still, she couldn't shake the strange suspicion she felt, nor could she place it. Something just felt off… Synthetic, in a way similar to something she couldn't quite determine at the moment. But one that filled her with unease she had to push through, for the greater good of herself and those around her, Penny and Legion especially. To that end, she took a small breath to force herself to calm and stepped forward, partially between the woman but quite clearly stepping into their conversation.

"We're going to be working together, I understand?" She asked, giving the black and red armored woman a look, one brow raised in question. "You mentioned wanting to recruit us, to some mission I presume."

"If you agree?" She preambled, speaking cleanly and clearly, and looking between the three of them so she was sure they all knew she was referring to all of them. And not just speaking to Pyrrha herself, "Yes. We will. And in combat, or on actual operational field duties and not waiting at the sky-car, everyone will get along. But people on _all_ sides of the fence are free and expected to speak their minds. Strength through diversity is a thing I believe in."

"Then please, tell us what you need right now. Then, we can actually decide if we want to be with you. Fight with you." Pyrrha asked gently, giving the two a look and a small, admittedly patronizing smile. She, of course, already knew she would go with Shepard if only to help Legion find them, and for what little the God of Darkness had revealed to her about the galaxy's grim future. "What missions do you have that you need us for? And as importantly if not moreso, why do you want us?"

"The second question is simple enough." Miranda was the one to answer, for once seeming to brim with some modicum of respect instead of derision and attitude. "It's hard not to hear of the woman that can go toe to toe with a Krogan Battlemaster in melee for the average person. Rumors have even reached the Citadel itself, for as little believe of it."

"Truly?"

"Word spreads fast and people like weird distractions." Shepard confirmed for her, smiling at a joke she quickly explained, "Some online conspiracists have even suggested you and I are the same person. Even though I would… Probably die if a Krogan punched me, Biotic or otherwise."

"So for an organization like Cerberus, you were an easy mark, though not one we were sure we wanted on such short notice." Miranda continued, playing off the commander oddly easily now the ice had thawed between them. It was, of course, replaced by work, but still. It was interesting. "As for our mission…? Well, that one is a bit more complicated."

"In the short term, we want to save a few million colonists and change from a race called the Collectors." Shepard went on, "Long term? Well, we want to save the whole goddamn galaxy from giant, sentient death machines from a hundred billion or more years ago. Starting here, on Omega, with saving one trapped Turian that's pissed off _way_ too many gangs and mercs."

"A Turian going by the name 'Archangel' has been trapped by the three so-called 'great' mercenary bands. His team is said to be dead, though we don't know how, and so he is alone." Miranda explained, "In short order, they intend to begin an assault so that he may join his cohorts in the grave. Our aim is to infiltrate them, sabotage them however we may, and aid the Turian before that happens."

"Garrus is in trouble…?" She murmured, not missing the way the other redhead flinched, as though struck, but unable to process it for her momentary surprise. Blinking it away and shaking off her tremor of anxiety she set herself again and sighed. Even with their relative strangeness he had helped her and she owed him, and now… "If he's in trouble, then we need to hurry. He's not the most reserved of men, and I fear he will grow impatient with no hope of rescue."

"Did you say…" The woman murmured, stepping close and into her guard, bending down and letting her head hang to the side oddly. Like some kind of doll, it's strings not holding it right, but its eyes cold and demanding, red hair falling loose across her shoulders and face. "Garrus? Archangel is Garrus? As in Vakarian?"

"Yes." She answered, "I did. Garrus Vakarian. I… Assumed you knew that?"

"Blue armor, likes long-rifles, kind of an ass?" She asked, head still hanging and eyes unblinking and… Glowing almost ethereally, like a demon had slid into her body, using it like a suit and speaking to her through it.

"Yes." She confirmed, stepping back only for the Commander to follow her in the same breath, lock-step with her to an eerie extent. "He helped Le- A friend of mine and I. Put us into contact with a woman named Liara T'Soni."

"I see." The woman hesitated a moment and then straightened suddenly, like the doll's strings had been suddenly tugged taut and upright. Turning to Miranda, she grunted a simple, "Miranda, get in the sky-car. And get Jacob out here, with some ordinance. Satchels and program bypasses for the Sun mechs. You are to return to the ship and get Solus and the mercenary, and use the shuttle to get in position to blitz in when the mercs are broken, and evac Vakarian while I make sure the mercs don't stop running."

"I thought we wanted subtlety, Ma'am…"

"We did." The woman nodded, smiling wide and toothily, like a mad predator ready and relishing a coming hunt. "But some dumb motherfucker decided they'd go after _my crew_. And that particular dumb motherfucker gets to see that Shep's back, and she's _not_ gonna let anyone hurt her people."

Pyrrha felt a shiver crawl up her spine at that, but couldn't argue with anything the woman was saying. Instead, she only nodded and, when Miranda called over the sky-car, crawled in and settled in for a ride. And after that, a _fight_.

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

_**StuG :**_

**Thanks! The character selection is on Espa, the Supporter behind this, but I'm glad you enjoyed where I went with stuff.**

***I'm glad that you like my choice StuG. I wanted to see something that hadn't been done before to my knowledge.* -Espacole**

_**TheDoctor1998 :**_

**Honestly? I don't. Had I known about the Dolt Interception Missile (DIM) before, I probably would have just ignored it going into this story. Now, I just have no option but to. **

_**Paragade Question (Guest) :**_

**To be decided, but probably more Paragade if you know what I mean.**

_**OmegaUltima :**_

**The idea of a Krogan Hunter is… Intriguing, actually. Not for this, probably, but who knows where the writing world will lead me?**

_**JapaneseOptics :**_

**Glad you are so intrigued! I want to touch on as many of these as I can, but dunno how possible that will be. We shall see!**

_**Helljumper 206 :**_

***casually takes picture of comment and moves on, whistling nonchalantly***

_**Steelrain66 :**_

**I am contractually obligated not to confirm or deny spoilers! XD**

***I'm the spark for the idea and even I don't know what's going to happen. Then again I like not knowing the full plan.* -Espacole**


	13. Archangel Part I

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

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_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

Fifteen minutes passed before the cat-suited woman's replacement arrived, in a similarly tight fitted but more padded looking black suit. Unlike the woman, he carried a rifle on his back and a shotgun besides, and strode with a straight-backed purpose, shoulders squared and eye gazing passively but intently around him for threats. This, she knew, was a soldier through and through, experienced enough from tours and press events in her youth. Mistralian bronze and black stitched cloth or Cerberus synthetic fibers, it didn't matter. A soldiers' walk was always a soldier's walk.

An odd kind of comfort, that small familiarity, but one that had her already feeling warmer towards the dark-skinned man than his fair-skinned compatriot.

"Commander. Your supplies." The man nodded, adjusting a small hip pouch meaningfully as he joined them. The explosives, then. The soldier turned to the two Huntresses, then, and he nodded his head and offered a hand, "Jacob Taylor, Cerberus specialist. Glad to meet both of you, even if the reason for it… Isn't the best."

"Pyrrha Nikos, Mistralian Huntress." She nodded, smiling warmly and taking the offered hand. Using her home and title was possibly not the wisest move, but she would be damned a second time before she cast away civility for fear. "Glad to meet you, though I agree circumstances are not ideal."

"Huntress?" The man's brow furrowed, "What do you mean- Ack!"

"Hello, new friend!" Penny crowed excitedly, grabbing his hand in both of hers and shaking it eagerly and forcefully. Enough to stagger the larger, more powerfully built man and draw wide, surprised eyes until she released him and let him stagger to the side, grinning all the while,. "I am Penny Polendina and I look forward to saving future friend Archangel with you!"

"Maybe don't say that so loud…"

"Oh, yes. You are quite right, Pyrrha. I am sorry." The girl nodded, ignoring the man shaking his now-sore arm and giving the Commander a surprised look. "I will quietly be excited to save our future, nameless friend, who is in no way related to angles. Or arches."

"...Angels." Pyrrha corrected gently, "Not angles."

"Those too!" She smiled, head tilted to the side and bouncing on her heels.

"Penny… Gods, Penny, but you are ridiculous." Pyrrha sighed but she couldn't fight her smile, hiding it behind her hand instead and turning to the armored woman beside her. In a more serious tone, smiling pleasantly or not, she prompted her gently, "What is our plan to take our friend from the trap he wallows in, then? I assume you have one."

"Jacob, key them into our secure channel while I talk." She ordered sharply, the two women holding up their Omni-Tools, old and shoddy as they were, for him to work. While he did, she tugged an armored helmet on over her head and rolled her shoulders, sighing, "Nikos, you're pretending to take charge of this operation. I can _not_ be recognized en mass or there will be problems, and Jacob can't be made for a Cerberus agent."

"Yeah that… That can be a pretty bad problem, yeah." The man grimaced and, holding a hand against his side, he sighed. Grinning, he shrugged and added in a cheerier, if forced sounding, way, "And I guess we don't want the little one being the pretend leader, either. At least not compared to the damn Krogan wrestler over here."

"I really wish people would drop that…" Even if it was rather amusing, and useful besides.

"Focus." The woman snapped her fingers for it, metal clanking together as she did. With their attention on her once again, she began to speak, voice low but firm and authoritative in a way that Pyrrha recognized in the same way she'd recognized the soldiery in Jacob. "Eclipse will be there and that means mechanized units, mainly in the form of their security robots. I'll take an access shunt to disable their target acquisition and differentiation protocols."

"Means they'll shoot anyone around 'em when they turn on." Jacob volunteered, giving her a smile when she grimaced. "These kind of folks don't deserve any better."

"On Omega, everyone is like them." She corrected simply, eyes hard and lips pressed into a thin line. "We don't have a police force here on the station. Those people are probably just locals trying to eat… Or do something good around here, and joined up with whoever they thought could help..."

"Didn't take you for a local, Nikos." Shepard challenged. Or rather, everything that came from her mouth, edged and tight with anxiety as it was, felt a challenge now.

"I'm not. Not really, at the least." Though she couldn't properly quantify where she was from. For her, it certainly was not from Omega. "I just… Aside from the Blood Pack, there are good people among the mercenaries."

"Not here there won't be, Red." Jacob assured her, offering a gentle smile along with the words. Her brow rose and he explained, gesturing for the group to pile into the car while he talked, "Here, they'll have brought in their professional forces. The bosses and their personal men, not local hires that run police work. Especially with the Plague situation on the far side of the station, they'll leave their best fighters here."

"Which means just the assholes. And take the front seat, you're supposed to be the leader after all." Shepard explained in answer, sliding across the backseat with Penny close behind. Past her and to Pyrrha in the front passenger, Jacob climbing in to drive for them. "All of 'em are the slaving, drug running, pirate kinds there, and freelancers that wanna be them. No one that deserves your sympathy."

"Forgive my impertinence, Ma'am, I just… Faced similar, once upon a time. I will do what I must." And _only_ what she must, at that. Fighting didn't necessarily beget _killing_, and she was in a unique situation to avoid blooding her weapon properly. And she was sure Penny would do the same. "Please, continue."

"I'll deal with the automated units, as I said." She reiterated, reaching forward to pat her fist against the armored man's shoulder. "Jacob will find a place to stash our explosives that will have a good payoff. You head to whoever is in charge with your friend, feign checking in, and we'll meet up ahead of the attack proper. If we can, we crash this party and hit them from behind."

"If we can't?" Jacob asked.

"Well, then we improvise." The woman answered, a hand on the heavy Carnifex at her side and a look that met Pyrrha's eye when she turned to look over her shoulder. Pointing a finger, the woman challenged, "I look forward to what _you_ can do, Nikos. I hope that Krogan brawl wasn't a one-off."

"I assure you it was not." And she'd only lost for the unexpectedness of Biotic furiosity, which she had shamefully underestimated. Which was not something she would repeat a second time, if she came up against another Biotic Krogan.

But really, what were the odds of that?

The path they took through Omega's weaving and meandering tunnels was different then the one Sidonis had taken them on. Be it for less familiarity or some other, tactical reason, she couldn't _hope_ to know. It was slower, too, and that left them in tense silence for the duration. Aside from Penny's eager chatter and unanswered questions about what they were seeing fly by, or in turn flying by _themselves_, but the young android didn't seem to mind. Just happy to be there, she supposed.

Which… Pyrrha could sympathise with, frankly, pressing a hand to her newly nonexistent wound on her chest.

"Problems, Nikos?" Jacob asked from her side, one eyebrow raised but his eyes still ahead on the purely proverbial road.

"What?" She blinked, stiffening in her seat at the sudden, surprising question.

"Look like you're having chest pains or something, they way you're holding yourself. Are you alright?" Anxiously and self-consciously, the Mistralian forced her hands down and away, resting on the arm-rests. The man only chuckled, though, and offered a quiet, "It's fine to be nervous, kid. Fight like this and you got a friend in it without you there to help, makes all kinds of sense to me."

"Ah, yes, that." That wasn't at all where her head had been, but it was a valid point, and a probable part of the problem to hand besides. Taking a breath, and wishing the Brother of Darkness were there to so helpfully calm her emotions, she explained as best she could, "I get anxious before missions, more often than not. I… Had one go rather wrong, and was badly wounded for it."

"From how you were sitting… Shot in the chest?" The less animated and bubbly of the women in the back seat asked, earning a small hum of affirmation for it. "Yeah, I get that. Had a few rough missions myself. You should see the inside of my…"

"Ma'am?" Jacob grunted after she suddenly fell silent, "You alright?"

"Everyone has rough missions, Nikos. And all manner of scars to show for it." The woman finally grunted, turning to look out the window and, when Pyrrha turned to look, thumbing the top of her hand cannon idly. "What matters is how you deal with it. And given I've seen you wrestle a Krogan Battlemaster, I would say you have very little to be _nervous_ about."

The woman was older than her, and with age came wisdom even if Pyrrha hadn't already reached the same conclusions. Still, reaching a decision and _enforcing_ it were wholly different matters, and she could do little but ignore the tightness in her chest. It was the usual, and likely unhealthy, approach, to be certain. But hey, it worked well enough for her.

At least for now.

"Coming in to land, Ma'ams." Jacob grunted simply as the sky-car angled down, towards a large parking area full of other sky-cars of varying designs. And levels of maintenance. "And… And do I hear _gun fire_?"

"What?" The helmeted woman pressed a button and a window lowered, the air whipping in as the sky-car lowered.

And, carrying with it, the distant staccatos of automatic fire and the intermittent _thump_ of explosions. She'd worked, trained and fought with Nora enough to recognize the sound well enough. Leaning forward in her seat, she flicked her hands and her weapons shot up and over her, into her hands. Beside her, Jacob did similar, drawing a thin Predator in one hand and piloting them down with the other.

When the sky-car shuddered to a landing and they piled out, the sounds were louder, funneled by the building complex the mercenaries had staged in.

"You're late, damn freelancers… Fight's already started!" A blue and white armored Batarian called out as they disembarked, weapons ready but attacks withheld as they approached. True to their plan, the threesome behind her fell in further back, and the man addressed Pyrrha for it. "The hell have you freelancers been? And your answer had better be pretty damn good, too, or I'll send you packing."

Not likely, to say the least…

"We were told to be here ten minutes from now." She argued simply, offering a small shrug and then nodding past him towards the distant sounds of fighting. Doing her very best impression of the apathetic mercenary, she crossed her arms, weapons glinting meaningfully, and asked, "I'm sure you know who I am, and why you want to permit me through these doors."

"I mean, I do feel like I recognize you…"

"She's the crazy bitch what went in on a brawl with a Battlemaster." Shepard tossed over the Mistralian's shoulder, leaning on it and cocking her head towards her and affecting an odd, off-kilter and backwoods sort of voice. "I saw the bruises myself, too. Damn good fight, that. Wouldn't 'ave signed with anyone else, tell you that."

"That… N7 armor?"

"Sure is, all right." The woman laughed, pushing off her pretend-leader and flexing an arm to show off the red stripe. "Killed one and took her armor, since if fit and all."

"Hmph. Guess you might be useful, late or not. And hell, no skin off my teeth, you rushing in behind the other freelancers." The man sighed and shrugged, then, seemingly apathetic to whatever would be coming. With a final, larger, shrug he grunted, "Head through, then. Straight into the fight, down the hallway here and through the main causeway."

"Got it."

"And don't go in any of the doors, neither." The Batarian grunted shortly, leaning forward to get in his face and breathing his rancid breath into her eyes. While she fought the urge to wince, he went on in that same snide, demeaning tone, "Real mercenaries are in there gettin' ready to come in behind you Freelancers when you're done playing war."

"Got it. Thank you for the warning, sir." She repeated, offering a small smile and laying a hand on his chest for the briefest moments. Then, when he stepped back, and flicked a finger to gently push the armored plates with her Semblance. He staggered and nearly fell over a step beside him and she cautioned him, "Be careful! We might need you real mercenaries to come and help us after all."

Was it a bit cold and callous of her? Most certainly. But it wasn't like he'd know she'd done something, Semblances weren't a known quantity in this _galaxy_, much less on Omega. And she was fairly certain Darkness enjoyed a spot of mischief, besides. And while being spiteful wasn't something that had always been natural to her, her time at Beacon and on Omega had taught her to get her little digs in so it would be easier to let people's slights and insults go.

"What now, Ma'am?" She asked when they were through the door and turned down a long hallway, a massive barricade closing off the main thoroughfare itself blocking their way. "Time does not appear to be on our side any longer. Tarrying may cause bigger problems than a few robots are likely to."

"Give me the explosives." She ordered simply, neither contesting or agreeing with the Mistralian's words. Jacob did, sliding the little pouch off his waist and pitching it to the woman, and she went on, "I'll disappear here and deal with the robots and whoever else is the most opportune, you three join the fight."

"Aye, Ma'am." The two humans murmured quietly.

"I am combat ready!"

Without further to say the woman rolled her shoulders and her body seemed to _crackle_, as though electricity were crawling along her it went, it seemed to disintegrate her, the black armor vanishing in its wake. Soon enough, all that was left was nothingness, before one of the doors along the hall opened to, presumably, admit her through it. She caught sight of a single robot before the door sealed and shrugged her shoulders.

"Well I suppose-"

"That's _awesome_!" Penny crowed as quietly as she could manage - so, a small roar - as she bounced on her feet. Still excited, she followed the other two as they went and murmured brightly, "I too want to turn invisible! I could see so many interesting things if no one could see me… Oh, the things I could see!"

Pyrrha actively chose to force her mind to take that as innocently as possible instead of _other_ ways it could be interpreted.

Down the hallway and past a turn, they were let out into the thoroughfare, and sound returned in full. Mercenaries in a variety of armor of varying qualities, from shoddy, poorly maintained and apparently shieldless suits to those mora akin to what Archangel had worn when they met, or the bodysuits like Jacob wore. Of the former, she saw one stand and fall back, bleeding from a hole in her neck. Of the latter she saw one also stand to fire and be tossed back, hands anxiously clutching at a smoldering pockmark of his armor. After a moment, the Batarian rose, scowling, and retook his place on the barricades.

"Ignore everything." Shepard's voice was quiet and crackled in her ear,tinny sounding and coming from a small earbud she'd long ago been given to use with her Omni-Tool. "I've hacked the bots and am planting the charges. Do _nothing_, just get through."

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

"Understood, Commander." Jacob's voice answered while the Commander reset the bot's targeting parameters. EDI's program bypasses only deactivated the targeting parameters, but she grinned and, using her own talents, bypassed the activation controls entirely and routed it out through her 'Tool. With a grin, she listed to the former Alliance Marine chime in quietly, "Uh, is that… You, Commander?"

"You've just been routed control of the mech's activation sequences." She answered with a smile, yanking the used shunt free and chucking it back, beyond the tunnel and the mechs where no one would see it. "I'm going silent to plant charges. When they detonate, activate the bots and set 'em loose. They'll cause all kinds of havoc."

She didn't wait for the man to respond, instead cutting her input from the channel and rising from her kneeling position to press the little button. A passing man in Suns armor on the other side blinked and staggered to a stop, eyes flicking to either side in confusion. Still invisible she stepped forward and brought her fist forward into his throat hard enough to crush it. The other wrapped around an arm and she pivoted, hurling him into the mech bay to choke to death on his own blood.

Leaving him there she stepped through and turned towards the sounds of fighting, slinking along with a small, vengeful smile.

Down the hall and through a door, she came out just in time to dodge a dying man's floundering fall from the middle barricade. She paid his gasping and grunting no mind, instead kneeling beside him and extracting a pair of remote charges. The barricades were a mix of gnarled metal scrap simply hoisted into place as well as more proper, heavy and armored, military barricades. The latter wouldn't be easily destroyed by simple, basic det-charges, but they were poorly anchored to an old, shoddy floor, and the _additions_ could be ruined completely besides.

Laid on her stomach, she planted the two charges at the base of the barricades, where they would be flung up and scatter the ramshackle add-ons. The handful of freelancers standing on it and firing what she was sure were _meant_ to be suppressing shots were none the wiser to her, of course, as she rose and continued on her way.

Across the way she spotted a dozen or so Blue Suns mercenaries in a little alcove that in a more peaceful time looked like it would have been a shop, complete with a refuelling terminal and an old, alien ATM in the back corner. Now, though, the atm was dark and useless, stacked high with ammunition crates and surrounded by soldiers, though the refuelling port was clear. Drums of Eezo were laid to the side of it and, had she a way through the guards there, the target would have been an ideal one.

Instead, she set one on the lip of the door, where it wouldn't be noticed. Not in the time they had _to_ notice it, at least.

Moving on, she rounded the barricade and caught sight of her team in the distance, about to hop the front-most fortification and 'assault' Archangels position. In their wake was a sheltered vehicle bay of sorts, with two guards by the doors just inside and an armored engineer repairing a gunship. A gunship that she had _zero_ doubt would intervene if they left it alone. And missile and heavy cannon oriented intervention was not something she wanted to deal with.

Luckily, she had a high ordinance solution for that particular heavy caliber problem currently hanging off her ass.

Three steps on the way towards the bay she flinched and slid to the side, pressed against the front of the middle barricade. Turning she saw the source of the footsteps, in turn the source of her sudden panic, as a small squad of soldiers led by a heavily armored woman strolled through towards the gunship.

"-deal with him easily enough, once the Freelancers are gone." The woman was saying, briefing her team on the go most likely. In the same clipped, oddly concerned tone, she went on, "Load up and prepare to breach the upper windows. Commander Tarak will be piloting so if you fuck up, he's _going_ to see it, and I don't want to have to deal with him trying to come down on one of you."

Great.

She was a _nice one_, and for all her training and lack of care who she fought Jane hated killing _nice ones_. It always felt contradictory, somehow, to do that. She'd never been able to put it into words, though, and had rapidly given up trying to.

A moment later the next squad of soldiers passed by, led by an agitated looking Batarian she assumed to be Tarak. He stopped to shout at the engineer who'd been working on the gunship for a moment while his men loaded up and assistant technicians to finish reloading the gunship's weapons. After a few minutes the dozen and change in mercenaries was loaded in and Tarak had climbed into the cockpit, lifting off and back before soaring away, taking with it her hopes for sabotage. The bay, then, was mostly abandoned as the assistants filed away to other duties, with the head engineer left alone to clean up and prepare for any further repairs it might need later.

But that didn't mean she couldn't cause them _future_ problems. Normally she'd not have bothered, leaving people and things that didn't need dealing with alone. But of course, normally they weren't trying to off her best friend, so she didn't feel a need to treat this like a normal occurrence.

Once the others had left she stood and made her way to the bay's entrance, hiding all but one of her charges around the door. The last she gave to the wall beside the front barricade where even now Eclipse and Sun mercenaries were huddled, shoulder to shoulder and without a _scratch_ of knowledge of what was coming for them.

Sucked to be them, she supposed.

But hey, not her problem in the _slightest_. At least outside ammo count and the cost of her explosives, as morbid as _that_ consideration sometimes was.

Once in the bay she found a button and closed the heavy, rolling doors. An action that drew looks from the mercenaries at the barricade but, given the _literal bullets_ pinging intermittently off their barricade, their attention was quickly off of it. The view dealt with, she stood and turned to look at the distracted engineer who had his back turned to them and grinned as a plan began to form.

Lifting her Omni-Tool and rolling her shoulders, she retook control of the drones from Jacob and activated them. In the same moment that she heard the distant staccato of light pistol and submachine gun fire, she set off the charges she'd at the front barricade. The explosion shook the room she was in hard enough she almost fell, instead kneeling and setting off the one next to the Suns she'd seen earlier. Less were there now, she was certain with the gunship, but the cascading _whump thump_ of the charges and the Eezo was still satisfying. And no doubt catastrophic to the command chain she was _fairly_ sure had been stationed there.

"What the hell? Were those… Fuck me." She heard the engineer cry when the explosions stopped, grabbing a fire extinguisher and rushing towards the door control. Stopping beside her, but unaware of that fact, he reached for the button and snapped, "Who the hell shut this damn door?!"

"Sorry." She snarked, letting her cloak crackle away and pressing the head of her Carnifex into the soft armor of his throat. "Was that supposed to stay _open_? No one told me."

"Mother fucker…"

"Now that's just rude. My mother happened to be very pretty, but I'd never be a mother fucker." She grunted simply, pressing the pistol into his throat to force him back and away from the door. With a heavy clang, he let the extinguisher go to raise his hands in surrender and she smiled, walking him back towards his maintenance rig. "I think you should apologize."

"Apologize…?" The Batarian's eyes narrowed but then he blinked in realization, the smart one that he was. "O-Oh, right, yeah. I'm sorry I called you a mother fucker. That was, uh, rude of me."

"See, now I'm going to feel bad."

"For what- Ack!" Her fist, augmented with cybernetics as it was now, punched considerably harder than she'd meant to. Hard enough he spun on a heel and flailed, crashing into his tools and scattering them.

"For framing you, obviously." She answered quietly, kneeling beside him and lifting his arm up. Finding his 'Tool was easy enough, as was accessing it with her superior Omni-Tool and access programs. While she framed him, routing explosives and bot-shunt controls into his Omni-Tool and doing it obviously, she rambled to herself, "I mean, you don't _know_ I'm framing you. Not yet, obviously. But you, uh, yeah. You will."

Once that was done she smiled and lifted the man's arm, pressing a button on his Omni-Tool. In answer, the door behind her, and safely out of blast radius of course, detonated violently. Old concrete, rebar and the heavy rolling doors were shorn away in a spray of debris that scattered across the room as the door came down. Thankfully it fell _out_ rather than in, crunching down in a tidal wave of heavy metal layers that caught several soldiers under it and crushed fully half of the already badly damaged front barricade.

On the other side mercenaries, of the blue and yellow varieties, staggered away and coughed at the dust. By the time the dust settled, though, her cloak was crackling back to life and the security drones - heavy Ymir mech included - were beginning to attack the soldiers between the middle and front barricade. With the Commander herself invisible and the droids distracting them, she knew her plant would work.

Sucked to be him, but she could keep her involvement under wraps, at the very least.

"Jacob." She murmured quietly, making her way towards the entrance, "Report. I've neutralize the robots, sabotaged repair for the gunship, and tied up the forces not deployed actively. What's happening on your end?"

"Suns are coming in the damn windows!" He answered, pausing long enough to correspond uncomfortably with a distant _crack crack_ of his rifle alongside a heavier punch of Garrus' sturdy sounding Mantis. When he came back "I'm up top with the asset, the girls are down below, in the access tunnels trying to keep the 'Pack at bay and seal the doors. We're fine, but _they_ have three ways in and two of them to try and handle them."

"Which will make securing an area enough to seal it hard." She nodded, "Are they holding well enough at least?"

"Yeah." He answered, "Or at least, they haven't said they aren't, and we don't exactly have Krogan crawling up our backs or anything."

"Eclipse is about to send their own people across and in the front, too." And in spite of the bots shooting them in the back if they did it, too. A couple dozen of them were clumping up to make the push, though, while a couple Asari hurled Biotic fury back towards the entrance. "Two dozen, lightly armed. I could intervene here, when they rush out, or-"

"No." The man snapped hotly, foregoing decorum for his focus on the fight to hand. A slip she could more than forgive, considering. "I can hold the window and the door long enough. Get the girls and then come in to help. If the 'Pack is down there, Garm is too, and the asset says he's a Battlemaster."

And a Battlemaster was something that Nikos hadn't been able to handle in the past…

"Hold on." She ordered simply, turning and trotting through the entryway and towards the building across the bridge as she did. "I'll seal up the access tunnels with them and then come and support you."

"Understood, Commander."

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

_**The Prime Cronos :**_

**Glad you liked it.**

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**Yeah, one does not simply piss off Mama Shepard.**

_**Blaiseing Fire :**_

**Yus~!**


	14. Archangel Part II

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

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_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

"Die, Human!" Yet another Vorcha snarled, barely armored at all and rushing her with naught but claws and pointed teeth, both bared to attack her.

Arms wide, it rushed through the door from the little vehicle bay and towards the stairs they were defending. Pyrrha met it, sinking to a knee and sliding under its clumsy, feral swipe and pivoting behind the creature. Her sword whistled through the air and the creature hissed as it struck true, hamstringing the alien and sending it tumbling back into her. She caught it on her shield and, with practiced ease, rolled onto her back and _launched_ it back through the door in full force. It struck another snarling Vorcha that had decided to try its luck and, together, they were sent flailing through the door while she spun and pushed herself up with a hand.

Rising, she punched her shield forward and caught a _third_ in the sternum. And while she couldn't be _sure_ that Vorcha sternums worked the same way, the results were still as she'd hoped. Its snarl died in a hiss and it buckled over her shield before the force of her Aura backed blow hurled it across their little entry-way and into a wall where it folded in on itself and, dead or unconscious, slid into a heap on the floor.

A fourth leapt on her back, one claw closing around her throat and the other clawing uselessly at her back, but it didn't last much longer than the others. One of her hands closed around its wrist and she _wrenched_, the bone snapping as it was hauled over her and slammed into the ground. It snarled a threat but her blade bit down, punching through its shoulder and effectively neutering its ability to fight before running her fingers over the metal of its little vest _thing_ and leaping back. Semblance motivated, the creature slid and was hurled away into the access tunnels, hissing loudly all the while.

"Raaaagh!" She leapt high and over the armored, charging Krogan and let it slam into the wall beside the stairs that led back up and into the base proper. Turning, the alien laughed, the booming sound intimidating and cock-sure as it blustered, "I've been wanting to get my hands on you since I saw your little fight. Now I get to show you how a _real_ Krogan-"

Its words died in a pained scream as four swords shot into its side and wrenched it up, Penny, turning on a heel and almost _dancing_ towards the alien. Pirouetting, the alien spun over her head and was hurled like a wrecking ball. A wrecking ball aimed straight at _another_ Krogan, which was crushed against the wall with a wet snap and thunk. Neither got back up, laying in a listless heap beside the door, and Pyrrha sighed.

"_So wasteful…"_ She thought to herself as she straightened and looked at the dead. "_To die here…"_

A Huntress' duty didn't end at killing Grimm, though. Criminals, fallen Hunters, and terrorists were on the menu as well. And so, ill as it made her and as much as she _tried_ to merely wound and turn aside her enemies, she knew the eventualities as well as anyone else.

"My scans dictate that they are falling back once again, Friend Pyrrha." Penny reported, her hovering swords around her shoulders like a halo of colorfully stained death. Looking grim, she let her hands fall and the swords folded, sliding into her backpack again. "This is the twelfth attack we have turned back. A shame we can't pursue and seal the entrances to end this."

"If we do, they'll rush in and past whoever stays." Even Huntresses couldn't hope to simply stop them rushing by, and she knew they would try it. She and Penny had already repulsed one such attempt. "Together, we can keep them back."

"Just barely…"

"Yeah. Only just." Pyrrha nodded, twirling her sword in her hand and extending it into her spear form. Resting the base on the floor and holding it upright with her finger on the very tip, she forced a smile and went on, "But such is all we need to hold the ground and frustrate our opponents' desired advance."

"I hope so, Friend Pyrrha." Pyrrha gave her automaton friend a look, brows knitting in worry, and she flinched. Smiling wider than normal, even for _her_, and waved her hands between them to ward off her friend's worries. "I-I am alright, Friend Pyrrha. Merely worried, and disliking this manner of fighting. Battles against the Grimm and sparring with friends is far more gratifying."

"I think I understand what you mean, Penny. And I… Feel the same." She spared the dead around her a look and sighed, already exhausted. Luckily, the number _of_ dead were few, and only those they'd been unable to repulse. Almost all Krogan, though, hurled against the walls to keep them from being overwhelmed by sheer weight of mass. "It's like fighting the Grimm…"

"Yes, as disgusting as it is to face them in such a manner." The android nodded, "And like the Grimm, they always come back.

Along with her words the android stepped forward, rolling her shoulders and flicking her wrists in one fluid, almost rhythmic motion. Her blades answered readily, floating under her arms as though she were _winged_ herself. Like an angel, but bladed for dealing death rather than mercy. An angel of death, _literally_ resurrected and sent to battle by an actual god of death and destruction.

It was almost funny, if not for the blood along the edges and the drumming of boots on metal and alien concrete.

This time, it was only Krogan who came through the doors, and two apiece. The Krogan hesitated for only a moment, but that was all Penny needed, her blades spinning into formation and blasting two with concentrated bursts of green energy. The aliens bellowed and charged, but only four of them took more than a few steps, the other two shuddering and collapsing in smoldering heaps, their faces and fronts melted almost wholly away.

A grim picture, to say the least, but not one she could dwell on at the moment.

The first Krogan bellowed as it reached her, heavy hammer raised overhead in two hands. The heavy weapon came down and she leapt, sailing high over the alien and hurling her shield into the soft meat of the top of its neck as the hammer bit into the concrete. The alien staggered as she landed and turned, spear held in both hands and used to brace herself as the second's slimmer, clearly industrial in nature, hammer slammed down on her. The force was enough for her to grunt and sink to a knee, but she didn't buckle, and she saw deep green eyes widen at that.

They really thought her fight against the Battlemaster had been faked, she supposed.

Raising one side suddenly, the weight shifted and the hammer slid to the side as she spun, punching the base of the polearm into soft flesh just behind the alien's crest. He snarled but staggered regardless and she lashed out with a hand, using her Semblance to rip the hammer out of his hand and hurling it into the face of the other Krogan as it turned. As it crumpled, groaning and unconscious, she turned to her last recovering opponent.

Only for it to buck to the side as loud, sudden gunfire carved into its soft side-head. Four shots there, right in the Krogan's weak spot - one of very few of them - it found the single track that led back to its redundant systems and carved a fist sized hole into tragically predictable results

"I heard you ladies were having a spot of trouble. Garrus asked me to come and give you a hand." The Commander said as she lowered her Carnifex. Looking over the battlefield as Penny hurled her opponent aside and twirled, dancing to flick her blades and clean them of blood, the woman whistled, "Looks like you were _holding_ pretty damn well, though, if I'm honest."

"Holding, but not taking ground, Commander." Pyrrha sighed, calling her shield back to her and grimacing at the orange that had painted a full quarter of its surface. "Three doors, two fighters, we couldn't have held the room and sealed the entry-ways without letting them get in behind us."

"Not criticising, I get the problem." The woman nodded, walking down the steps and looking around her. "Gotta say, surprised you two were so… Ruthless. I thought you weren't the types to kill."

"A Huntress must protect people at all costs, and sometimes, fighting means hurting your enemies." Penny answered, rolling her shoulders and collapsing her swords into her pack while Shepard watched on, no doubt curious about what _that_ was all about. "We avoid it when we can, but sometimes, spending time to merely wound or disable in a fight to save _one_ life could cost several more."

"And you said these were not the kindly locals I feared facing." Pyrrha added, shrugging noncommittally and turning to the woman. "You said they were criminals tried and true, of the crueler and more dishonorable sorts. The kinds not deserving of as much sympathy as simple locals making a living. And ones we ought to make haste to deal with, now that we can, I would wager."

"Good point." Shepard nodded, replacing her half-spent thermal clip as she approached them and they talked. "Do you have ideas on our approach, Nikos?"

"I take the access tunnels here, you take the micro-tunnel over there, and Penny takes the parking zone. Whichever of us finish our areas first, " She'd have plenty of room to maneuver in there, she was sure, even if she did not like using her lasers so freely. Such would attract attention, but then, so would Legion, Shepard herself, and Pyrrha fighting with a _spear_, so such couldn't be avoided. "If you have disagreements, then now is-"

"Contact!" Penny shouted, turning to look towards the access area's door as a truly _massive_ Krogan lumbered into view.

Decked out in bright red armor covered with somehow _less_ scars than the Krogan's hide, the Blood Pack's leader glared hate at them and rolled his shoulders. Biotics crackled along his body and Pyrrha grimaced, putting herself between the Commander and the Krogan while it bellowed a challenge, "Little girl! How about a second fight with a Krogan Battlemaster? You did so well the first time, after all!"

"As if we'd be so-"

"I'll handle him, Commander. We don't have time for us to dally her any further." Pyrrha interrupted, striding forward and raising her shield. The Commander, swearing under her breath but not arguing with her, gave her a nod and she stepped forward, looking to Penny and nodding, "Seal the breaches and get back here. I will hold the line as a Mistralian ought to."

"Friend Pyrrha…"

"This is not like Beacon, I assure you. You needn't worry, I can handle this." She assured the concerned machine before Garm growled, trundling towards her. Luckily, the android listened, using her swords to punch into the roof and swinging around and across the room towards the vehicle bay.

"Your friends won't be able to break through my Blood Pack." The Krogan growled as he neared, slamming his fists together and sending blue energy crackling along the floor. Grinning, he added, "While you were thinning out the wages I had to pay, they were entrenching."

True to his words, she heard the crackling of gunfire in _both_ directions and grimaced.

"They can handle themselves, don't worry about that." She assured the Krogan, flexing her Aura to take stock of it. Around seventy percent or so, if she had to guess. Enough to fight here, she was sure, with more room to maneuver than she'd had before. "As can I, more to the point. And you will find far more of a match in me now than I met before."

The Krogan's cruel bark of laughter turned into a bellow as he charged, shoulder down and teeth bared. Having learned her lesson about the power a Biotic could bring to bear, she dropped her hips and leapt to the side, turning it into a roll and pushing off with her hands to launch herself up and land back on her feet far and away from the Krogan as his shoulder met the steel of a crate beside the stairs and ruined it. With a flick to shift it, she raised her rifle and barked rounds into his armored back.

As expected, the rounds sparked off his Barrier, but her attack had the desired effect. Rounding on her, he charged again, and this time she held her ground. _Literally_.

Kneeling suddenly, she slapped her hand to the floor to touch the metal grating there and then lashed out and up, the metal answering in kind. Metal tore and spindled up like a thousand fingers and the alien's eyes widened as he tried to slow. To late, though, his massive frame bringing with it far more inertia than he could hope to stop, and his Biotics having fed the charge into something that only worsened his state.

The trap closed around him, ragged metal puncturing his hide in places as he _slammed_ into it and, like a metal venus fly trap, it closed around him. Standing, she curled her fingers tighter to further tighten the proverbial noose, and the metal answered, roiling around him and cocooning him while he struggled and his Biotics sparked. The image was a rather twisted one, to say the least, the Krogan's eyes wide and feral and nothing else of him visible aside from blood leaking out of the intertwining steel of the floor.

"What the hell is this, you red-haired bitch?" The Battlemaster demanded as she ordered the metal to lift and move him, pressing him, trapped and helpless, into the corner under the stairs. She raised a hand and closed her fist and the Krogan groaned, blue sparking and sparkling around his head as she _crushed_ him and he resisted for all he was able. "W-What the hell are you?"

"A Huntress, Garm. And someone that _far_ out-matches you, as well." She answered simply, twining the steel over his mouth now while he glared hate and fear at her. "This," she pushed him back and the wall under the stairs groaned, "will hold you until the battle is over. If and when someone comes to free you, reconsider your chosen profession. And ensure that your little band of mercenaries knows not to get in the way of the Huntress again."

He, of course, didn't answer. Her metal made gag saw to that, as _exhausting_ as it had been to wrench up several feet of metal out of the concrete had been. It was all a rather dramatic display but one that, she hoped, would keep the Blood Pack from hounding her the way killing him would have. If she simply _killed him_ then his replacement would hunt her, for revenge or to prove his mettle, and that wasn't something she wanted to encourage.

Particularly not when she could simply _trap_ him and leave him to escape later.

"Not everything needs to be a fight to the bloody death." She murmured under her breath as she moved to the door and manually sealed it, the heavy locks groaning as the thick, armored steel slammed into place.

"Nikos!" The Mistralian turned as the Commander rushed into the area, Carnifex in hand and no doubt hoping to help her. She paused, then, and looked around the room for a moment before murmuring, "What the hell happened here…?"

"I fought and captured Garm, a leader of the Blood Pack." And in the process ripped up half the room's floor and shoved him into a corner like some kind of demented metal spider. As a result, the room look like a bomb had gone off. But she elected to ignore that and press them to move on, "I trust that your path went well?"

"Yeah, nothing I couldn't handle." Pyrrha's eyes landed on a pitted scorch mark just under one of her breasts and the woman huffed, brushing a hand across it and shrugging. "Armor didn't breach. Don't worry, it happens. We should go and help your friend before she gets-"

"I am back, Friend Pyrrha! And I am successful, the Blood Pack forces have been routed and the access door sealed." The little android called as she skipped into the ruined room and looked around, mouth a little 'o' of surprise as she approached them. She noticed Garm, eyes all that could be seen now under the cocoon of metal, and waved at him. "Oh my goodness, Friend Pyrrha, but you really did go all out."

"I learned better than to try and actually _fight_ Biotic Krogans." And at least wherever and whenever she could help it, she'd not bother. Easier to avoid or trap them, really, and far less costly in terms of time and Aura. "As our objectives are all completed, we ought to return to Archangel's side, no?"

As if on cue, the building _shook_ and the Turian's voice crackled in their ears, "_Blue Suns are making a move! They're coming in through the damn windows, floor one and two."_

"Son of a- Zaeed, come in for air support right now. Enemy gunship in the air, get some fire on it. Once we clear out the infantry, prepare for rapid-exfil." Shepard ordered, turning and taking off with the two women on her heels. Talking over her shoulder, she ordered in rapid-fire, "Nikos, Polendina, you two take floor one while I reinforce Taylor and Archangel on floor two. Clear it, and come to support us and wait for pick up."

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Got it!"

Together, the trio barreled out of the stair access on the first floor, and stepped into a war zone. A dozen of the blue armored mercenaries swarmed the wide, open room, spraying fire at the window of the office up top while Biotic fury rained down. An unfortunate woman lost her head as the Commander closed with her, Omni-Balade glowing hot as she ran by and ended her, but other than that the woman left those downstairs alone.

A fact they quickly noticed, turning and falling back and away from them to cover. Cover that wouldn't, in truth, matter.

Penny was the faster, sweeping forward with her lasers propelling her small but dense form. That density was soon discovered by a veritable bear of a man who she leapt into at all speed, feet planting in his chest. Blue Suns armor wilted under her sheer force and mass and he was sent flying as she bounced up and back, spinning in the air and lashing out with her blades to cleave apart a pair of Vindicators held by shocked mercenaries. One drew a Predator in the same moment his weapon was destroyed, but on seeing a trio of sword punch into his gut, the other turned and fled.

Now was Pyrrha's turn, and she made good use of it, launching forward to land on the low table and punching the rim of her shield into the woman taking cover there's helmet. Glass and steel shattered and the woman reeled, but a boot to her chin sent back and unconscious, slumped over the arm of the couch and safely not a problem for her anymore. She grunted then as rounds punched into her chest and sparked of Aura, the woman rolling to the side and collapsing on the ground for cover.

Smiling, she raised a hand and flicked it, hurling the metal-framed table through the air and crushing the trio of soldiers attempting to rush her under its weight.

As she rose, another massive mercenary slammed into her, belting a punch into her face faster than she could blink. The blow did little, though, aside from make the mercenary hiss in pain. Leaning in, she belted her own punch into his stomach, using the rim of his shield to force his breath out of his lungs. He crumpled over her shield and she snapped out, blade cutting across his chest and carving a furrow into his armor to make a point before snapping the rim up and into his chin. His head snapped back as he sagged as a long blast of green energy fried the last of the mercenaries, and finally the gunfire went quiet.

At least for a moment, before something _roared_ and the building shook, and a woman was hurled over the edge of the window overhead. The tan skinned woman hit the ground and groaned, looking up in time for Pyrrha to knock her out.

"That damn gunship is keeping our ride out and away." Shepard called down, giving them a look and then pausing, as though considering something for a moment. Finally, she spoke, "I won't ask what the hell those energy blasts are, now is _not_ the time, but can they ground that gun-ship, Polendina?"

As it turned out, she could, and the Mistralian was tasked with covering her as they stood in the open bridge area outside the building. Supposedly, she'd been meant to fend off rushing mercenaries while Shepard, Vakarian and Taylor. Instead, she'd simply used her Semblance to raise the metal and attached concrete and seal the hole. A far more effective and bloodless solution than simply beating down or killing anyone that came her way, she believed.

"I am ready, Commander." Penny reported once she was sufficiently prepared, kneeling in the open and with three sets of her little swords spinning in orbit around her head. "My energy blasts are charged for anti-armor usage, and if you have it brought around to me, I am confident I can eliminate the gun-ship."

"_Bringin' it your way, tot. Don't fuckin' miss, either, we won't get a second shot at this little play of yours."_ The mercenary's gravelly, old voice answered in place of the Commander's own.

It took a few minutes before the shuttle came by again, screaming overhead and smoking from a hit to its side. A moment later, they could hear a second set of engines. This one was a pitch deeper, and thrummed evenly unlike the shuttle. As the gunship rounded the corner and came towards the Penny hummed gently as he swords begin to spin more and more rapidly, until the edges cut the wind so sharply it whistled. At a point the gun-ship crossed that only Penny understood or saw, the sword began to glow and long blasts _hissed_ out of them.

The first went off course somewhat, carving through one of the engines but doing little aside from cripple that. The second and third, though, struck far more truly. One carved a long furrow along its stomach that smoked and sparked with fire. And the other struck in the cockpit itself, coring the machine and sending it tumbling as it screamed overhead and fell away, deeper into the bowels of Omega's forgotten districts.

She murmured a silent prayer that the wreckage _would not_ land on anyone's home below and sighed as the shuttle returned to at last pick them up.

"Who the hell decided not to tell me the fuckin' midget had a GARDIAN hidden down her trousers?" Zaeed demanded as the doors opened and they began to load in, tired and dirty.

"A conversation we will all be having back on the ship." Shepard assured him as she fell into her seat, giving the two women a look across from her. In a terse, clearly curious but angry at not already knowing, voice she added, "We have a _lot_ to talk about, turns out. You two can do some crazy shit."

Pyrrha only nodded, having fully expected that sort of conversation to occur at some point. Luckily, it at least came now along with _very much_ impressing the woman. Better now than never, she supposed...

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

**Mild point of clarification, and I won't expound MUCH on it, but here you go. **

**Her issue previously was that she knows GOOD people enlist with the mercenaries, too. But with the clarification that these are not those kind of people, she would only really try to **_**avoid**_ **casualties, not refuse to kill outright. She'll never be the 'Yeah, lol, I got fifteen kills!' kind of character. But if in a fight she has to stab someone to protect her friends, **_**especially**_ **knowing the Reapers are a thing, she will.**

**Also, yes, sparing Garm **_**will**_ **have consequences.**

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

_**Frosty Chops :**_

**Glad you enjoy it! Big ups to Espa for Requesting it, as always.**

_**Hotshot 6 :**_

**Yeah, no, basically.**

_**Team JNPR (Guest) :**_

**A thousand and change year old Battle-Master that hits harder than any kind of Grimm is EXACTLY the kind of enemy to showcase how NOT indestructible she is. To note, though, here she bests normal Krogan with relative ease. In Mass Effect, Biotics are a force multiplier.**


	15. The Debrief and the Offer

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

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_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

Omega station was a filthy place, covered in literally centuries of grime and rust. Filth so deep in places as to be as soil and rock, crunching underfoot every step of the way. The air was oily enough to clog and choke her throat in places, and around her the aliens and Humans living on the station matched what one would expect from that kind of place. Dirty faces, tatty clothing, and coughing, she'd grown used to it. And to the crowds that could develop in the relatively tight confines of the station's bowels. By fortune, neither of them had grown ill, though she had the sneaking suspicion that _fortune_ had nothing to do with their health.

Somehow, she doubted the Dark Brother would particularly enjoy watching them cough in bed for a few days.

The _Normandy_ was an all-together different matter, though. Inside it was clean, and sparsely staffed, with only a dozen men and women in what she'd been informed was the CIC. The walls and floor were cleaner than she'd seen in what _felt_ like months even if it couldn't have been, outside of Legion's Geth ships. Only a dozen or so crewmen were in the room as they passed by, not paying them any mind for the work they were doing, whatever important tasks each of them had to do to keep their ship together.

All the while, the Commander barked orders like a woman born and bred to do so.

"Vakarian, I want you in the debriefing room with me. Massani, Taylor, stow your gear and make your reports. Lawson-"

"I'm obligated to sit in on debriefs with recruits, Ma'am." The catsuit wearing woman cut her off, the soldier rounding on her for it, standing inside the door that led into what had been labeled in big white letters as the armory. Miranda only cocked a hip and crossed her arms, though, "Orders straight from The Illusive Man, Commander."

"I should care because…?"

"Even _you_ have to follow Cerberus directives, Commander." The woman pointed out with a sarcastic little smirk that had even _Pyrrha_ frowning heatedly.

Seizing the commander's moment of hesitation, the other squad members cut to the left, following the pointed finger of a young woman with red hair beside what looked like a holographic map. _They_ hadn't been ordered anywhere, though, and she didn't want to risk getting on the fiery soldier's bad side. Instead, the two young Huntresses were stuck in the CIC while the argument began to unfold.

"And if I _don't_ care to follow Cerberus directives?" The woman challenged, stepping close enough to the other woman that she could have kissed her, were it not for the helmet.

But Miranda was unflappable and simply met her gaze for a long moment, before finally countering with a quiet, "Then maybe The Illusive Man will think assigning you _this ship_ was a mistake. Maybe he will think I was wrong in pushing for _you_," she pushed a finger against the other woman's sternum, "and that _all of this_ should be recalled."

"...You argued I be brought back?" Shepard gestured at the ship around them, "That this be built?"

"I did."

"Why?"

"My reasons are my own. Commander." The raven-haired woman answered quietly, looking around her at the watching Cerberus agents and pursing her lips. As Miranda's eyes roved by them, the agents turned back to their work, until she was gazing back ito Shepard's visor. Sighing, she offered as amicably, and quietly, as she could, so that those around them couldn't hear, "Save face with the crew. Order me to fetch their files, I'll give you ten minutes."

"I earn respect out there, with my rifle." Shepard countered loudly, visibly relaxing and backing down. She spoke differently, now. Voice flat and back to her normal firmness, with the hint of a smile in her words. "Sometimes I earn respect by standing up to someone I shouldn't." Miranda's eyes narrowed but the soldier was turning already, headed into the armory, "You three for debrief in ten minutes. I'm getting out of this armor. Order the rest of the unit to make their reports."

"Y-Yes, Ma'am." Miranda stuttered, a sound that seemed to be a rarity from how many of the Cerberus crewmen turned to gape at her. As the armored back of the woman vanished around the corner, the Biotic turned to give each of them appraising looks. Finally, she stepped through the door as well, sighing, "Get a move on, then."

As she vanished, Pyrrha gave Penny a look, but the girl was already turned away, calling out to the red-haired woman, "Hello, new friend!"

"Hello!" The woman responded in oddly matching cheer, smiling widely at the girl bouncing on her heels.

"Come on, Penny." Pyrrha urged gently, laying a hand on her smaller gynoid friend's shoulder. The girl turned to look up at her, smiling thinly, and for a moment Pyrrha felt very much like a parent. Gently pushing her towards the door into the armory, and hoping she didn't _look_ like a mother as she did, she urged the girl, "We have a debriefing first and then you can make new friends. Okay?"

"Okay, friend Pyrrha!" The girl nodded, turning to wave farewell, "I will see you later future friend whose name I don't know yet but look forward to learning!"

The armory was a relatively expected affair, with the armored black man working at cleaning his rifle. Beside him on the table, a mound of heavy black armor that had to be Shepard's lay, waiting on someone to levy their love and care onto it. Another table was lined with clean, even laid rifles and sidearms, and the one behind the young man was overrun with papers. Reports, she guessed, on what he used and repaired, and when.

Seeing them looking around the armor, he grunted and nodded respectfully, leaning back against his work desk and smiling amicably. Gesturing around him at the armory's various, mostly empty on the front end, tables, he offered a simple wave, "Hey, ladies. Drop your weapons wherever you want and I'll clean 'em. Unless you wanna clean 'em yourself. Either way, pick a table."

"I would rather maintain my own weapons, if you don't mind." Mostly because the weapons were enchanted, or blessed maybe, to not _need_ maintenance, but she couldn't tell him that. He shrugged uncaringly regardless and she flicked her wrists, calling her weapons to her hands with a practiced kind of ease and laying them on the table. Grimacing at the blood on the edge, which had dried enough to at least adhere to the metal, she asked in a quiet voice, "Would you… Mind wiping the blood off, though?"

"Yeah, sure. I'll wipe 'em clean and leave 'em in a crate for you with some tools." He gave her a small smile of sympathy and she returned the gesture along with a nod of thanks. Quietly, he added, pointing at the other door, "Briefing room's on your right, through there. Didn't hear the Commander tell ya, so there you go."

"Thank you, Mister Taylor."

"Jacob's fine, Ma'am." He corrected with a friendly smile, turning back to his work and popping the frame off of an Avenger. Distractedly, he added a parting, "Glad to have you aboard. Both of you. Good luck in the debrief, she's gonna have a _lot_ of questions, and she'll probably be pushing you to feel you out."

"Such is what happened with Miss Lawson, I suppose?" He only nodded to her question, already engrossed in her work, and Pyrrha turned a look on Penny. Smiling reassuringly, she shrugged and waved her forward, "Duties put off bring only pain, I suppose."

"I prefer 'nothing ventured, nothing gained' personally." Jacob grunted from the table, sparing them a glance only long enough to smile and nod reassuringly. "Don't be anxious, girls. Just get through it. If you can smack a gunship outta the sky, you can handle a debrief with the Commander when she's in a bit of a mood."

"Is she upset?" Penny asked, ever the voice of innocent concern. With wide eyes and her hands curled against her chest anxiously, she asked, "I-Is she upset about me not forewarning her about my particle energy laser blasters? I only wanted to hurry up and save new future friend Archangel!"

"No idea, but probably not that." The man laughed, shaking his head as he examined a long rod she didn't have _any_ idea the purpose of. "Think she might be feelin' the crew out. Poking 'em, seeing how they talk and walk, that sorta thing."

"I see." And that was why she'd challenged Lawson, she supposed. Testing her, to see how she'd reacted. Which explained why and how she'd so easily slid back into her seemingly normal mode of speaking, once the woman had responded enough. "I suppose this is _one_ way to vett your allies' personalities. Not my favored one, but..."

"Everyone has their quirks, yeah." She nodded and joined him in chuckling, Penny merely smiling and enjoying the amicability of the conversation. She gave the android a smile and, more sure of herself than before, gestured for them to make their way out. "Before we overstay our welcome, of make her wait a tad too long."

"Okay." Before they left she turned to the man before Pyrrha could lead her out, though, and asked in that same ever-bright voice, "Would you be the person I would wish to speak to regarding attaining a higher understanding of Mass Effect technology's inner workings?"

"I mean, if you mean the kind that applies to guns and armor, yeah, sure. I know more 'n the next guy, even if I'm no tech-head or scientist. Nothin' against 'em, of course, but just not my line of work." The man answered, giving her a more focused, appraising look as he explained. His other hands, practiced from years of training and work she had no doubt of, continued their efforts idly as he answered. "Doc Solus would be a better place if you want _real_ learning, though. Mine'd be too focused."

"Thank you, Friend Jacob." She smiled, turning to lead Pyrrha out now that her curiosity had been satisfied.

With a shrug, the Mistralian followed her, not particularly worried about what Penny chose to spend her free time doing. And even were she, studying their new home wasn't something she had any dislike towards. Distantly, as they stepped into the hallway, she considered the idea more deeply, "_If she finds someone to teach her, I may even join her myself. Knowledge never hurts, really."_

Well, as long as one didn't take their research too terribly far.

The briefing room she found to be rather simple and clinical, in the same way that the rest of the ship was. A long, ovular table split the room, pale white lights recessed into the joints between the roof and floor and the wall, and metal grating to walk on. At the other end of the room, dressed in a tightly fitted, matte black and gently textured like scales, skinsuit stood the commander herself, arms crossed and head down. In the cleaner light she was rather pretty, with pale skin, reddened hair, and fine features.

"I see you finally decided to show up, we were beginning to wonder if we should send a search party for you." Miranda said from beeside her, a nearly perfect eyebrow rising towards her equally perfect hairline.

In a lot of ways, she found the commander _prettier_ than her counterpart. Her snark and was likely not the least of the cause for Pyrrha's instinctive dislike, but it was only part of it she knew. A brief moment's thought answered her wonder for why, glancing the woman up and down rapidly. She was too perfect. _Inhumanly_ so, even. Her proportions were flawless and perky like a younger woman, but swelled like an older one, and her skin was flawless. Even her hair was well kept, with not a frayed end in sight.

She looked _built_, not _born_, and that had her eyes narrowed and her suspicion up as Penny stepped up to the table and the door closed.

"Nikos first." The Commander grunted shortly, startlingly bright green eyes landing on her as she stepped forward and nodded. Watching her, the woman rattled off her information mechanically, in the way someone _establishing_ something before moving to what they really wanted to know did. "You get shot and don't take damage. EDI's scans confirmed you didn't have any Eezo in or on you, so shield and Barriers are out. And besides, I saw what you did to Garm, and _that_ isn't Biotics I've ever seen."

"No, Ma'am." She answered quietly, standing shock still and straight. The way that he military sparring trainers had taught her to, later in life. "It is neither Eezo based nor was I using Biotics. I confess I know little about either of these things, honestly."

"Not Biotics _or_ Eezo based technologies? I don't know what else it could be..." Miranda asked quietly, giving the Commander a look asking for permission. Getting her permission in the form of a nod, the too perfect woman pressed, louder and more surely, "We need to know what your abilities are, and how you use them. Without such knowledge, we will be at a disadvantage in combat."

"Your energy weapons can wait." Shepard added, nodding to the small android. Rolling her eyes, the woman actually smiled and chuckled, sounding genuinely amused. "The hell kinda life am I living where god damn _lasers_ aren't the most interesting thing in a conversation?"

"The important kind." Miranda offered with a small shrug and an amused smile. A smile that turned hard and false as she returned her attention to Pyrrha and her smaller friend. "So, if not _those_ answers, what is the answer?"

"_Nothing ventured, nothing gained, as the good man said…"_ "Aura." She answered simply, kneeling to unclasp her greave as she explained further. "It's… A complicated matter, how it works. I am _woefully_ unqualified to teach about it, but it gives us abilities. Blocking bullets, protecting us from temperature extremes, why, I wager that it would protect me for a time in space itself."

"I'm assuming you don't want to test _that_." Shepard murmured, chuckling when she straightened, brace in hand, and shook her head. "Rhetorical question."

"So I figured, Ma'am." She nodded, laying her greave on the table and smiling pleasantly as their eyes landed on it. After a moment, seeing it not _doing_ anything, they turned their gazes back on her, "As I was saying, the gist beyond the defensive capabilities is increased physical acuity. Speed, stamina, strength, etcetera, Penny and I outpace any normal Human I have met yet. Such is the strength Aura gives even a semi-trained Huntress."

"Hence the leaping and flipping we've seen you doing." Miranda guessed, "And you fighting that Battlemaster in melee."

"Yes. I and Penny are more durable and physically powerful than any regular human being in the galaxy." Or at least, so she'd seen in her time here, watching the Humans she met. Only a few races matched their prowess, and only one or two of the physical attributes they excelled at. Krogan held great strength, for instance, but lacked her fine agility. "With our Aura comes what are called Semblances," she flicked a finger and that set her armor spinning on the table, sliding across it to the Commander and then returning, like a spinning top toy, "such as mine. Polarity. I can control metal."

"Impressive." The Commander murmured, nodding consideringly. "I saw what you did to the metal flooring in Garrus' base. Can you do that to _any_ metal?"

"So long as I make physical contact with it, yes." An important, if typically easily navigated, pitfall of her Semblance. Melee combat made 'physical contact' easy to achieve, after all. Moving on and hoping to head off any uncomfortable inquiries, she explained, "Auras and Semblances aren't an exact science, though. Where I come from, _decades_ of education are required for most to fully understand their own abilities. My own took from the time I was little until I was around ten, and I am considered a prodigy. Yet even now I don't know the fuller extent of my abilities."

"Impressive." The Commander murmured, clearly processing what she was hearing as best she could. Chewing a lip, she turned an eye on the small android and asked, "Are those energy blasts your _Semblance_ then?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes." The android answered simply, holding up a hand and smiling as green light sparked from her fingertips. "Using certain aspects of my body I won't go into for privacy reasons, I can produce and focus my Aura into concentrated energy. I can then store this power for later use, fuelling my weaponry." With a small frown, she sighed and offered a more tired smile, "Using so much to destroy that aircraft has rather drained me, now that I think about it."

"Are you alright?" Lawson asked, "Do you need the doctor?"

"No, do not be worried, it is nothing of the sort." Penny smiled brightly, fatigue seemingly gone inside the same moment. Bouncing on her heels, she assured them, "All I need is food, rest and time to recharge my purely proverbial batteries."

"Speaking of, we should like a place to rest." Both to not give away any more secrets, and to genuinely _rest_. She'd used much of her energy up binding Garm the way she had, and in the battle previous. Still, though, she added politely, "Unless you need more from us, Ma'am?"

"You look Human enough, regardless of these rather… _Unique_, shall we say, abilities of yours." Miranda answered when the Commander shrugged them off, apparently satisfied for the moment and either content with their answers or content to ask more later. Regardless, the other woman was eager to step in before the two others could vanish. "You _are_ Human, no?"

"We are." Sort of, at least. "And I know what you are getting at. Before I even _consider_ unlocking people's Auras, I would need to know them better than I know _any_ of you."

"Why's that?" Shepard asked, one brown rising on her scarred forehead with the question.

"Aura is the manifestation of the soul. Of your mind, body, and all which makes up what is _you_." She preambled, explaining as best she could what she'd been taught growing up, by professors and priests alike. From them came the amalgam, which she put forward as her understanding of the matter. "To activate another's Aura, you must give them a piece of your own. A small piece, that is, but…"

"It's intimate." Penny, of all people, stepped in to explain when she saw Pyrrha's unsurety and hesitance. Quiet, almost _reverent_ even which made some sense given her unique status, the gynoid went on, "A teacher to his pupil, a brother to a sister. Partners at Academies, who will live together for years and, in all likelihood, die in the same place. A father and a daughter, even."

"I wouldn't give so deeply of myself to anyone like that without knowing them well, or knowing well that I would be with them for a _long_ time." Her thoughts drifted to Jaune, with that. And, bitterly, she realized she had been wrong in the assumption of how long she'd have to get to know him to justify her giving him that. "You are free to dislike our decisions, but I would ask you respect them."

"Of course." Shepard grunted, giving Miranda a look that _dared_ her to disagree. When she didn't, the woman turned her gaze back on them, "Both of you are free to go wherever you like. If you want to stay together, I recommend the observation decks. Pick one, settle in, get some rest. I'm putting you on Biotic ration levels as well, so you can be damn sure to have your energy up."

Relieved that they had no more questions, and hadn't asked any _particularly_ awkward ones in the first place, the Mistralian retrieved her greave and smiled, "Thank you, Ma'am. Let us know if you need anything."

The woman only grunted and nodded, waving for them to leave.

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

Jane watched the woman's back round a corner and vanish behind the sealed bulkhead, which glowed an angry 'locked' red at their exit. Sighing, the woman pushed off the wall and asked, "EDI, did you detect anything interesting?"

"I detected an elevated heart rate from Miss Nikos at various intervals whenever she discussed or alluded to her abilities, those of her companions, or applications beyond themselves." The machine answered, little blue avatar sparking to life on the long table. "Oddly, I detected no significant energy signatures from them, though that could simply be due to their exhaustion. Further, Miss Penny did not have a heartbeat which I could discern, and I detected extensive artificiality throughout her body."

"A robot of some kind?" Miranda guessed, giving her a sidelong look. "An AI maybe?"

"More intrusive scans would be needed to determine such, and if they wish to keep her, forgive the term, _race_ a private matter then I doubt they would cooperate. Further, with their abilities, forcing it on them would be… Dangerous." The ship AI answered mechanically, adding after a second, "Especially inside a _metal_ ship."

"She could rip it into pieces with a flick of her wrist, possibly." Shepard didn't bother trying to argue with Miranda, even if she _kind_ of wanted to. She was easy to dislike, so she did, but they didn't really know _what_ the Amazonian woman was capable of. "EDI, do you have any records of Aura, or people on planets with anything like these abilities?"

"I do not."

"A long shot, but…"

"Had to ask, yeah, I get it." Shepard agreed, sighing and pinching the bridge of her nose and then wincing when that hurt a scar on her face. Pushing off the wall and ignoring the little lances of pain from a thousand still-healing injuries, injuries that thankfully didn't hurt as much as they had even the day before, she began to give out her orders. "For now, we put it to rest. Let 'em come to us and _volunteer_ information if they want to, but don't push them for a _damn_ thing. Not their tech, not their abilities, not their home."

"I'll look into their descriptions and try to find a background at least." Miranda suggested by way of stating, giving her a raised brow to show the question. She nodded simply and the woman returned it, speaking to the machine after, "EDI, do deep information dredging for the terms they used. I'll do the same. Cerberus _has_ to have _something_ on this nonsense, even if I wasn't privy to it before now."

"Understood." The machine responded, winking out after.

"I'm getting some food and then some sleep." Jane grunted simply, pushing off the wall and heading for the door. Waving a hand over her shoulder as she went, she called back, "Have fun with the digging."

Miranda, still wary after her challenges earlier no doubt, didn't answer beyond a simple, "Aye."

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

The observation deck they were lead to by a polite young crewman was nice enough, Pyrrha supposed. Empty, mostly, with seats lining the wall to either side of and across from a great window that looked out on the void. A pair of nice, comfortable enough cots were swiftly delivered to them alongside a crate of spare uniforms to wear - for more comfort than armor might allow, she supposed, though she was rather used to her medium Mistrali plate and leather - and a table to eat at if they didn't feel a need or desire to eat with the others. A couple hours later and plates heaped with roasted pork and potatoes were delivered, as well as a small box of baked rolls.

'Biotic rations' meant 'stuffing you with calories' apparently, which was all well and good. A Huntress' diet _was_ rather calorie and protein heavy.

They set up their cots on one side, pressed against each other and the edge of the hull, and the table on the other side. Their storage crates, where she left her armor once she'd stripped out of and cleaned it a bit, she left stored under the bulkhead-touching bunk, where it was safe and within easy reach. Together, they set the table on the other side and ate, the android girl excited to get to eat - and of course, _taste_ \- food as she always was.

"They let us get away too easily." Pyrrha murmured once they had _mostly_ finished eating, putting voice to the nagging doubt she'd felt for the last hour or so since their 'debriefing'. Which she was fairly sure wasn't a _real_ debriefing, though such was the least of her worries, really, for the moment. "Too few answers, too few _questions_ as well, and they didn't challenge _any_ of what we did say."

"Maybe they just wanted to offer us some trust." Penny offered quietly, dipping her last roll in the dry mashed potatoes and smiling excitedly for the prospect. Even rather _bad_ food, it seemed, was enough to make her happy… "I am just happy that they were so willing to believe us and welcome us aboard."

"I suppose I should feel the same, really." Though, somewhat to her shame, she still didn't. _Something_ felt off about the whole situation, even if she couldn't place it to save her life. Pushing it aside she stood, dusting her hands off and asking, "Could you run the trash and dishes to the eatery tonight? I'll take my turn next time, but I am _tired_."

"Okay and goodnight, Friend Pyrrha!" The girl nodded, happy to be of help as always. Hopping up, she started collecting the assorted rubbish while Pyrrha dragged their beds apart and fell into _hers_, her back to the door and forehead against the soothingly cool metal.

No sooner than she felt sleep take her did she feel the now-familiar _tug_ of her mind - or body, she had _no_ idea how _any_ of this god business worked, really - as she was summoned. Instead of the cool air of a world at night as she was used to, though, she felt… Warmth. Mixed with a scent of soil, fresh water and vibrant flowers. Opening her eyes she found herself in a small cave, just big enough for her to lay in comfortably, and sighed.

"Never a night's rest…" She murmured, anxious and frustrated for the anxiety as she crawled out and stood in the sun.

Outside, the sun was warm, the sky was a deep and vibrant blue, and a deer, of all things, was wandering by her, idly looking at her and flicking its ears. It sipped at the wide lake beside the mountain her cave had grown beside and then bounded away, satisfied and unwilling to risk what it didn't know. She watched it recede for a moment before walking to the water and kneeling to let her fingers trail through the frankly impossibly clear water.

This was _definitely_ not the Dark Brother's making…

"Ah, my brother's champion." A bright, booming voice called from above her as a great shadow overtook her. Turning, she was met by nothing but wind slamming into her as the form landed in the water. Turning again, she found a great dragon, curled in the cool water and towering over her like a coiled snake might a mouse. It bowed its great head, though, instead of eating her, and rumbled, "It is good to finally meet you in a more… Appropriate and heartening setting."

"Indeed." She murmured, looking up into the silver eyes and smiling, serpentine mouth of the God of Light. Swallowing anxiously, she asked, "Though I… Wonder how I came to be here. And why, of course."

"I summoned you is the how of it." The deific beast answered, sounding amused at something she couldn't understand. In an oddly paternal, bemused sort of voice, he - or it, maybe, again with the deity based things she didn't know - went on, "And as to the _why_ of it… Well, I wished to speak with you, after some time and consideration."

"Consideration about…?"

"You and your young compatriot's fates, and… _Status_, under my rather grim veneered sibling." The great being answered, body shimmering for a second before growing so bright that her eyes ached and she was forced to close them. When they reopened, the draconic frame had been replaced by the luminescent 'human' body, sitting in the water like a monk at rest. Leaning forward, the being asked, "Are you truly _happy_ in your new world, young champion?"

"I… Gods." She stepped back, unsure and wincing at the sheer brightness of the god. He noticed this and leaned back and away, raising a hand and _dimming_ his brightness.

"Forgive me. I created this place and my luminescence shines brightest here, in my home." The god explained, sounding… Sorrowful as he did. "You grew without my light and warmth on your world, and so cannot bear it."

"I see." She kept to herself the comment that he could choose to go back at any time. Gods knew the people could use gods to protect them… Though she didn't know that forced subservience was a better life for them. Regardless, "To your question, whether I am happy or not, I don't have much of a choice. Now do I?"

"I could return you to the afterlife-"

"I am quite happy _alive_, thank you very much." She cut the being off, earning a cocked head and the slightest narrowing of his eyes. She flinched, but now was not the time to back down. "I have the chance to protect people and atone for what I did to Penny, accidental as it may have been. Her blood is yet on my hands, and not cleansed simply because her murder didn't stick."

"You know not what this world's fate is…"

"Our ends and futures are not ours to know." She answered simply, shrugging slightly and stepping back further, into the cool shade of the mountain overhead. "I am content with mine. I died on my world with honor, and have a chance at a second life here. If I am to die again, then I will again do so with honor."

"I see… Then perhaps a lesson of a more _visual_ sense will make clear what comes for you. And what I could give to you." Quietly, he reached out with a hand, and though she tried to retreat she found her legs didn't move. A long, luminescent finger touched her head and she felt her head fill with heat, like a fever rushing into her.

Then, all she saw was blackness, inky and expansive around her like nothing she had ever seen. Turning to her left, she could see the beauty of stars, swirling in a mass beyond her comprehension impossibly far away. Like paint swirled around a drain, flecked with glitter and beauty the likes of which made her want to cry for seeing it. Was that…

"The galaxy you are currently residing within." The Brother of Light answered, voice detached and echoing around her. It throbbed within her head as well and she winced, though the discomfort was only slight. The Brother ignored it, though, moving on, "Not your home, to say the least. Not a place you were made to occupy. And one doomed to a cycle of destruction that _none_ have been able to stop in so long as for its beginning to have escaped my own memory."

At his direction, or she assumed that was the pressure she felt turning her, like a great hand around her. Facing away from that galaxy, now, she could see the distant specks of more. A faintly ethereal finger and hand appeared, pointing out one eons away, and the god spoke again to confirm her fears, "_That_ is where your home is. So far away that were I not to fold the nature of the universe itself, and step on _far_ too many toes to mention in the process, I could not move you there with your body. Even if I wished to."

"Other toes…?"

"There are more figures of our status, or similar, than just the two of us. Other gods, lesser, greater and… _Different_. But _they_ do not matter, and I strongly suggest you not even consider looking into." The god answered, brushing the topic aside. And then she was moving, flashing to the side so fast the dots blurred into lines and had she been able, she would have retched. "_This_ is what comes. A force unlike _any_ you, or your surrogate galaxy, have faced in eons. And one the latter has never survived."

Around her, pinpricks of light were scattered intermittently, moving with languid grace around her. A moment passed and she blinked, forms beginning to take shape. Squid like almost and truly massive, cruising by like a fish might through the ocean. Undulating ever so slightly and, in the distance, she saw towards what. The God's influence allowed her to see it well enough, glowing blue and silver in the inky blackness of empty space.

"What in the name of the Grimm…"

"Swearing by the Grimm now are we? Hah." She blinked and she was back in the garden, laid on her back and staring up at the tree canopies around them. Her back felt cool and she turned her head, finding that she was laying _atop_ the pool of water's surface. Not floating, but _laying_, impossible as it seemed. Above her, the god stood, staring down on her with his hands over his chest. "Those machines bare many names across uncounted and uncount_able_ species and eons. To you, they will likely carry the name 'Reapers'."

"The Reapers…?" She murmured, rolling over and, anxiety filled for her mind's inability to comprehend it, pushing herself up on hands and knees on the water's surface. Below her, a turtle's head poked through the surface, so close she could _smell_ it, and then bobbed back down when it saw her.

"Indeed." The God rumbled as she rose, standing shakily on the water and meeting his gaze. "The Reapers. And inside a handful of years, they will have reached your new home. And it will _burn_, as it has countless times."

"I thought you couldn't see the future?" The Dark Brother had implied as such, at the least.

"We can't." Light confirmed, "But we _can_ see the past." His gaze turned vacant, if that were possible for one without _eyes_, and he murmured. "I see a number of years for which a number does not exist of this Cycle. And casualties, which are so high that even _I_ can't comprehend them."

"Oh…" Those sorts of numbers even _existing_ was something that made her feel small.

"If you ask it, I can take you from this doomed galaxy." The god murmured, kneeling before her like a parent might a child. "If you were to _ask_ I would even return you to your own world. Albeit in a new body."

"You mean-"

"Reincarnation." He nodded, smiling in the way of someone pitying something much smaller than her. A way that rankled her, her hands balling into fists at her sides. "I would only grant you _one_ reincarnation. A rebirth, with your memories intact, to live anew. You would even be able to recontact your lost friends, after a time, one you were-"

"No."

"-old enough to…" The deity blinked, taken aback, and cocked its head to the side. "I'm… Sorry, what did you say?"

"I said _no_." She reiterated simply, stepping back from Light yet again, onto the banks of the water. Mouth set into a firm line, she shook her head and took a deep breath. "I have _no_ desire to abandon a galaxy to live a life as an infant for my chance - _chance_ even, not a certainty - of seeing my friends again. Your warning is appreciated, but… But, and I am sorry, but you can- You can _fuck off_ if you think I will turn my back on a galaxy that needs my help."

For a long moment, silence stretched around them.

"Do you truly think you, a single insignificant little Human girl, can halt the progress of a cycle which has existed for _millennia_? And you would spurn my kindness so blatantly? The _arrogance_ of it..." The being rumbled, heat _baking_ the area as he rose to his full, great height. "A child, as I knew, but one without temperament."

She could tell he was furious, though his form betrayed nothing. Around her, though, heat began to spread. The lake began to steam and, further out, she began to sweat and the trees began to move with wind suddenly kicked up by the change in temperature. Thunder rolled distantly and the being sighed, sinking into the water, steam spindling up around him.

"Children of ill temperament deserve rebuke." The god intoned simply, taking a long stride to her, reaching out. Again, she tried to move and found herself undable.

Instead, she closed her eyes and began to pray, as great yellow fingers closed around her, burning where they made contact. "Oh Brother Dark, please heed my call. Your servant calls on your salvation and-"

"**YOU DARE, BROTHER MINE!"** A voice boomed, the Mistralian feeling herself suddenly lifted and then flung through the air.

With a cry, she sat up in her bed, sweating and chest heaving. Around her was only darkness and silence, the lights dimmed and even Penny asleep in her bunk, curled into a tight little ball and swaddled in blankets. Taking a deep breath she winced, reaching up to touch at her shoulder gingerly. It was sore and hot to the touch and, as she turned so the little light available could let her see the skin her string-topped sleeping shirt left bare.

It was red, like it had been burnt after a long day in the sun.

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

_**This story is back, ladies and gentle-nerds! And yes, that means I have to relearn how to write dialogue for Pyrrha and Penny both. Figured I would come in **_**strong** _**on the first chapter back, though, so hope you enjoyed~!**_

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

_**Thermidor : **_

**Thank Espa, not me. XD**

_**Blaiseingfire :**_

**Oh yeah. I know. I mean, **_**Pyrrha **_**doesn't. But ooooh boy, I do. And it's super intentional, too.**

_**Steelrain :**_

**There's a war on with how many bombshells are dropping.**


	16. Automata - Part I

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

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_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

"Do you believe they really _battled_, though, friend Pyrrha?" Penny asked the next morning, sitting across from her and happily nibbling on a piece of toast held in both her hands like a cute little robot squirrel. Each time she took a bite she smiled, as though tasting a fresh new delicacy unlike any other.

Which, for Penny at least, wasn't _actually_ that far from the truth.

"It isn't a _comforting_ thought, to be sure, but… Yes. I do." She had _felt_ the rage filled roar reverberate through her entire being. Right down to her soul, even, which had likely been all that made her. Shaking her head, she turned the piece of toast on her plate with a finger and looked up to find Penny's hands newly empty, and eager eyes locked on it. Smiling, she held it out, "Here."

"But you need to eat too, friend-"

"I'm full, Penny." And that wasn't even a lie. 'Biotic rations' meant twice the normal amount of food, and of a higher quality, than a normal soldier's. Breakfasts were a heart setting of four eggs, four pieces of toast, two glasses of pulpy juice, and fried slices of ham. Delicious, but without Beacon's training regimen, she didn't _quite_ need _that_ much, " Take it. They gave us _plenty_ to eat, and you are eyeing my toast like a man that hasn't eaten for weeks."

And besides, she could _not_ handle those sad eyes she was sure Penny knew she was making. Devious little machine…

"Okay then!" She cheered, snatching up the little piece of multigrain and curling up on it like an oversized squirrel might. Boths hands holding it, she nibbled on it absently for a long, quiet minute that Pyrrha spent watching the stars outside. Finally, she murmured, "What do we do if friend God is in a war over us?"

"Penny…"

"A war between gods… Two girls can't be worth all of that." Penny practically snarled, in an uncharacteristic show of fear and anger unlike what Pyrrha was used to from the gynoid. Quiet, and picking at her pilfered toast, the girl asked, weakly, "Can they?"

"A good question… A _very_ good question, Penny." Pyrrha murmured, easing back into her seat while she looked for a way to answer. Letting her head fall back and rest against the top of it, she sighed, staring up at the ceiling. Idly, she wondered if Jaune was out there, beyond the decking and out among the stars somewhere so absurdly far away she couldn't imagine it properly. Instead of answering Penny's question, she asked, "What do you think makes a person valuable, Penny?"

"I… Don't know." The android answered unsurely, shaking her head. "Father always said that a person had value for their mind."

"I believe that people don't, inherently that is, _have_ any value. Rather, I believe we are given worth by those around us, who live with and for us. Friends, family… Partners." She answered softly, smiling fondly at the memories that came flooding up at the words. Memories of a two-dress dance, and time training on a starlit rooftop. Holding onto those somewhat bittersweet memories for dear life, she added, "The love of those we come to call family is where our value as people come from. From the collective, individuality."

"Found family." Penny nodded, understanding at least _that_ part of what the Mistralian had said. "That, at least, I can understand."

"Then let's go with that." It was probably easier than trying to explain high brow Mistralian philosophy that, for all she ascribed herself to it, she wasn't entirely informed on. The gist was all she'd ever been given, and on the gist she based her beliefs. Whether her own personal beliefs matched the overall scheme was, really, _quite_ irrelevant. "If the Dark Brother's belief is that we are _worth_ a battle, then we are. And unless you think we can _force_ him not to fight-"

"Unlikely to say the least."

"-then we had best just accept what is coming." Pyrrha finished with a smile, setting her plate atop Penny's and sighing. Picking up her juice, she finished it in one long drink and smiled, pleasantly full and feeling herself flush with a good meal's energy. Quietly, she returned to the true matter at hand, "A war of the gods is not something to simply _ignore_, of course. And your worries are not without merit."

"But it's not anything _we_ really have a say in." Penny nodded, understanding her point even if, to Pyrrha's ears, she didn't sound particularly comforted by it. "The gods will do what they want, I suppose. And if that is fighting, then two girls can't do much about it."

"Besides asking them not to?" Pyrrha suggested, snorting in dark amusement at the _completely lacking_ chances of that ever working. Penny looked hopeful for a moment, but that quickly vanished as the Mistralian argued, "The God of Light doesn't exactly _listen_ to the opinions of lowly human beings like us, Penny. Dust, he barely listens to his own _brother_, it seems. Or respects his opinions."

"You're right, of course." Penny nodded, seeming sad for a moment before her face split in a smile. Pyrrha's brow rose in question and, seeing it, the android explained. "You called me a human being, friend. I know how you feel about me, that you think of me as a _person_, but… Actually hearing it said is something different entirely."

"Penny…" _That_ was as sad as it was warm to hear, and brought a small, only slightly bittersweet smile to the young Mistralian's face.

"It's a good thing." The gynoid assured her, smiling and waving her concerns off with a hand. "I am just happy, please, do not let your mood sour. I do not want that, friend Pyrrha. You were just starting to cheer up!"

"I suppose…" And if Penny didn't want to dwell on the implications of what she'd said, then Pyrrha wouldn't press her to. The gods only knew that Pyrrha had things she didn't want to dwell on...

Instead she stood and headed to her bunk, stripping out of her Cerberus pajamas as she went and pulling out the black and white bodysuit she'd been given to walk the decks in. Normally she'd have showered first, but _that_ could wait until after she got all sweaty again. "I'm going to training with the Commander, Penny. She messaged last night and invited me along, and I see no reason to refuse." A good workout, or maybe a spar, would do her head good she was sure. "I trust you're going to be spending the day with Doctor Solus as you did when we boarded yesterday?"

"Oh yes, I am! And I am looking forward to it _quite_ a lot, too." The girl cheered excitedly, stacking their dishes and rattling off faster than Pyrrha would believe anyone but Penny capable of. And maybe Doctor Solus. He seemed almost manic enough in terms of sheer energy to keep up with her, and smart enough to actually respond well. "New friend Mordin has agreed to teach me the 'ins and outs'," she even added finger quotes so Pyrrha could see she was quoting him, earning a chuckle, "of everything xenobiology and xenotechnology so long as I don't get in the way of his work for the Commander."

"Which is…?"

"Testing some little bugs recovered from several of the colonies that have been abducted. Cerberus believes they paralyse the abductees for easier, faster abductions." Penny answered breezily, pausing for a moment to consider something that soured her mood. The abducted colonists, she assumed, from the way her smile dipped. A moment flashed by, though, and Penny brightened again. "I do not get in the way, though. I simply stand there and watch him, and he lets me know when he has time to talk. He says it occupies the waiting periods nicely, and enjoys my energy and optimism."

"I bet he does…" If someone could _bottle_ her optimism and energy, they would make a fortune and never need to work again a day in their lives. Regardless, she zipped up and set to work on her ponytail, running her fingers through her hair and then twining it properly to keep it back. "I am glad you found a way to spend at least _some_ of your time that you enjoy, Penny."

"Indeed I have!" The girl cheered, bouncing on the spot and smiling excitedly. Then she blinked, grabbed the stack of dishes, and headed for the door. "I am late now, though! I shall see you for dinner. Have a good day friend Pyrrha!"

"Wait, it's my-" The door closed on the gynoid's back before she could finish an, somewhat flaccidly, she sighed, "-turn to deal with the dishes. Not yours." She chuckled, though, and rolled her eyes. "I'll just take the next _two_ sets, then… Assuming that she doesn't sprint off with them, of course."

Which, Pyrrha knew, she _probably_ would. Penny was just the type to get ahead of herself that way, a lot of the time. That was just her way of things, she knew. And for all her complaints about not getting to do her fair share of the dishes, she wouldn't work to change _that_ about Penny any time soon.

And besides, Penny _was_ better at the dishes than her by far. Chuckling, she murmured to herself, "Darn machines, taking our jobs..."

Dressed and as cleaned up as she was going to _get_ ahead of what she hoped to be an intensive workout, she headed for the door. Shepard was waiting for her, dressed in a similar Cerberus bodysuit and leaning against the wall with her arms folded under her bust and her eyes closed. Clean and out of her armor, the woman proved just as beautiful as Pyrrha had suspected, albeit with her pale skin crisscrossed by angry red scars that matched her bun-taped hair. They were around the same height as well, though oddly enough, _Pyrrha_ was the more muscled one.

Though, then again, her world did merit a bit more _physical_ power being incentivized in a soldier over simple marksmanship and lighter athleticism. So maybe it made sense. She wasn't the one to ask about that, though.

"Going to stare or ask for my number?" The woman grunted after a second passed, one too-bright-to-be-natural green eye cracking open to meet hers.

"W-What do you-"

"Not one for women, usually, but for you I might make an exception. Since you can kick a Krogan's ass and wanna stand there checking me out. Smaller'n you or not, though, I top. _Always_." Pyrrha flushed at that and began stammering out denials faster than she could rationally form _sentences_, and the woman laughed. A short, mirthful but still harsh bark that echoed down the hall and into the cafeteria. Smiling, the woman pushed off the wall and shook her head, "Nikos you have _got _to be kidding me. How on Earth are you this god damn easily flustered by a joking flirt?"

"I-I'm not… _Used_ to it?" Gods, she was blushing, too. "A-And I wasn't checking you out, either, Commander! I'm not-"

"Into women? Neither am I, but sometimes, you get shot enough, you don't get what bits the other one in bed has." Pyrrha felt her face heat up _again_ and Shepard laughed, slapping her arm and shaking her head, grinning from ear to ear. Turning to walk away, she called back, "_God_ you're easy, Nikos. Hope you're a better sparring partner than you are a _banter_ partner."

Cheeks burning, the Mistralian followed the woman around and into the elevator, to head down to the cargo hold. There, the message on her Omni-Tool had said, they did their training and workouts. As much as they were able to, at least. At least she _did_ know that she was better at fighting than she was at 'banter' as the Commander had called it.

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

"It's kind of… Cute, actually." Penny murmured quietly, stooped with her hands on her knees, watching the little bug flit about in its container. It turned to her, thumped against the glass and then, as though affronted at the glass' intervention, flicked its legs and turned its back on her to sit down. Looking up, she asked the Salarian, "Is that weird of me to think? That it looks kinda cute?"

"Strange? Yes." The Salarian blinked at her, working at a terminal beside the little box. Turning back to the terminal he shrugged. "Wrong? ...No. It is cute. In a sense. Not one I expect a human to enjoy."

"Because it's a bug?" She asked, straightening and stepping back to lean against the design and catalogue system terminal that sat in the column of the room. Where, she'd been told, the Commander could review proposed system and hardware upgrades to direct their resources to.

A system that had _acceptable_ levels of efficiency.

"Partially, yes." The Salarian answered simply, eyeing her as he explained further, "Also, its usage. Meant to restrain and abduct humans. Likely experiment on and kill them after. Odd for a human to find a creature cute that hunts it."

"I guess." It probably wouldn't be able to hurt _her_, but it made sense. Quietly, she argued, thinking back to the Atlesian machines she had been told had been turned on her friends, "It can't help what it was built for, though. I mean, I'll kill it if I have to, to protect people. But…"

"But you are capable of separating its intended use from its design." The Salarian nodded understandingly, turning fully to give her an approving smile. He did that often, she found, over-explaining himself or making a show of his opinions. Why, she wasn't certain, but it was useful and intentional, so she used it. Turning back, he continued, "Admirable quality. And useful, too, for a scientist."

"Or a student." He hummed his pleasure at the answer and nodded, the girl smiling at the praise. Even if it was _unspoken_, she knew it was there.

For around ten minutes after that, they sat in silence as the alien worked, hard and focused, at the terminal. Occasionally, he would turn to give her a look, and remind himself she was there. She would wave, then, and he would not and turn back to his work. Just as occasionally he would murmur a comment or question, but she knew not to interject with an answer. It would only distract him, and derail his train of thought. He, like her father, was merely thinking to himself while he worked.

And interrupting wouldn't be helpful at all, good intentioned or not.

"You are very patient." The alien savant said a while later, still working but apparently overcome by curiosity and needing to speak to her to sate it.

"I am."

"That is odd." The alien stated simply, as sure of the fact as he was that there was an artificially created insectoid in the glass beside him, glaring balefully at him. If a bug _could_ glare balefully, that was. In explanation, he went on, "Most humans are less patient. Most _people_, too. Not you, though. Why?"

"My father was a scientist." She explained simply and quietly, keeping under wraps that for a lot of her life _she_ was his experiment. The case remained the same either way, really, aside from the bits that might endanger her. "I spent a lot of time in his laboratory and study. He needed long bouts of quiet, too. But when he was done, he would teach me. So I find this peaceful and comforting."

"I see." The alien nodded, pressing a few keys for a moment, "Will be done in ten minutes. Will teach you then."

"Okay." She nodded, smiling and watching him work. She didn't mind the wait, of course, but neither did she mind being told _exactly_ how long she had to wait. And as long as she could find out without being a bother, she saw _zero_ reason not to.

And besides, she could watch the cute little murder bug, too.

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

The cargo bay had a very simple setup for training day, set back against the ramp on the far end of the room, opposite the elevator. A pair of weight sets, a handful of treadmills, and a punching bag that hung from a metal rigging built for it. It _looked_ like a gym zone, albeit smaller than any she had ever been to. And emptier, too, with nearly no one there aside from a single man sitting on a crate, looking bored. The lack of people partaking of the equipment drew furrowed brows and Shepard shrugged.

"That's the man monitoring the equipment." Shepard explained with a small nod, "The _rest_ are still at their stations for another hour or so. Most hit the equipment up during the mess period."

"Ah. I see." It made sense. The warship they were in would still need piloting whether its crew got its fitness exercises in or not. And it would already have contingencies in place for crew coming off for meals, so doubling up was perfectly rational. Taking a step towards the weights, she rolled her shoulders and smiled, "Shall we get to it, then, Commander? I believe you wanted to see what I could do."

"Not on the weight machine I don't." The woman chuckled, striding past her and into the wide open area between the elevator and the weights. Spreading her arms, she grinned ferally, rather less like a woman in uniform and rather _more_ like a beast with fun before it. She reminded her of Aria, in that way. "I wanna see what you can do with your _fists_ against someone that knows what she's doing."

"I have fought rather a lot of people who knew what they were doing." Hundreds, in fact, though no record of almost any of them existed anymore. Cocking a hip and resting a hand on it, she smirked, "_Including_ a Krogan, for that matter. I feel a Battlemaster knows what he is doing, Ma'am."

"Eh, maybe, yeah. A bit at least. Gotta, or they'd catch a bad case of 'gunshot' or 'stabbing' somewhere along the way." She shrugged, grinning and squatting to stretch her legs. "I remember right, he tanned that little rear end of yours, too. Woulda' liked to see _that_ bit at least."

She couldn't help but flush and stiffen, suddenly conscious of the fitted aspect of her suit. The commander only smiled as she stood, wrapping one arm around the other to stretch it across her chest. And, as sudden as her flush had come on, she realized what the older woman was doing. And why.

"You're trying to fluster me before we fight." The woman nodded, but that didn't help her blush all that much. It _did_ let her ignore it more easily, though. With a deep breath and a roll of her shoulders, the Mistralian champion fighter strode past her and turned. Back to the weights, she slid a leg back and asked, "Rules?"

"No Auras or whatever, no armor, no weapons." The Commander grunted, curling up in a stance that was much like the modified boxing one Yang used in such spars. Hand-to-hand was elective training, of course, and the blonde had thrived in it. Even _with_ the no Semblance rule, Xiao Long had been a monster. Grinning, the Commander challenged, "I wanna see what you can do _without_ your little gimmicks."

"I wouldn't call the power of the living soul a _gimmick_." Pyrrha argued shortly, sliding a foot back and bringing her arms up, a fist on her right side held back. The other was an open palm, the back of her hand turned towards the woman and fingers held loose in the Mistralian style she'd been taught as she grew. Smiling eagerly, she called her opponent to her with a flick of a beckoning finger, "Let's dance then, Commander. If you aren't getting cold feet."

"Cold feet?"

"Oh yes." She smirked, "I do so _hate_ feeling my partner's cold feet while I'm… _Engaged_."

"Ohhhh, I think like you." The woman smiled, grinning ear to ear in anticipation of what was to come.

Shepard was the first to make a move, as Pyrrha had expected, crossing the distance in several short and defensive steps. A probing fist shot in towards the Mistralian's stomach as the woman reached and Pyrrha stepped in, catching the blow with the open palm and turning, yanking the soldier past her in one fluid motion. The Commander only staggered a step, though, and didn't even turn. Instead, she _slammed_ back with the point of an elbow which caught her in her shoulder as she dodged to the side.

The blow carried Shepard past her but again the woman reacted faster than should have been possible, planting a foot and pivoting on it. Another fist slammed in like a mighty hammer, this one too strong to catch in her palm. Instead, she stepped in and ducked, straightening as the fist went over her and forcing the fist up. One arm wrapped around the woman's hips, pressing them against her own, and the other dipped under her left, hand wrapping around her throat from the back, fingers pressed against the bottom of her chin. The soldier slammed a knee into her stomach and she felt the wind leave her, but refused to let go. Instead, before her leg could come down, she slammed her knee up and under it and pushed.

"Fuck-" The woman was cut off as the Huntress' weight bore her down, slamming her into the floor of the ship with a heavy bang.

Before the soldier could react the Huntress let her go, sliding up and over her chest, practically sitting on her face with her knees bent under the smaller woman's shoulders. Twisting and hurling her wait to the side,she rolled them over, the commander wrapping her arms around her waist and coming to her knees. As the Mistralian expected, she tried to stand, lifting the Huntress into the air to slam her back down.

Instead, she pitched forward sharply, carrying the woman with her. Landing on a palm, she let the soldier go to slam into the metal. Only then did Pyrrha follow her down, slamming a knee into her solar plexus and making the woman wheeze under her. Smiling, Pyrrha demanded, one knee on the woman's abdomen and the other pressed over her throat, "Yield, before I accidentally hurt-"

Shepard, with impossible strength, wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled, slamming the surprised Mistraling down beside her and rolling over her. Straddling her, the woman brought her fists down in quick, powerful jabs. The first two caught her on the face, stunning her for sheer force and busting a lip. The deluge lasted for only a few seconds after, landing on the Huntress' muscled arms, before Pyrrha rolled back onto her shoulders. Lifting her behind off the metal, she wrapped them up and under the womans shoulders again, this time from the back.

Using her powerful legs she yanked the woman off her and slammed her down, into the decking. Rolling over, she pushed herself up and smiled, coming around and sliding back into her stance as she did. When the woman waved her the win and starte dto rise, though, she offered her a hand up instead.

Dusting herself, the soldier rose, gesturing at her face as the Huntress let her step back, "Gotcha a little bit." A flare of Aura and the bleeding and stinging stopped, the wound closing up as the other woman watched and complained, "That just ain't fair… Ain't fair at all."

"Such is the nature of fate, I fear." Pyrrha shrugged, wiping the trickle of blood that had trailed down her face away. Returning to her stance, she asked, "Shall we go for seconds, then?"

Laughing, the soldier nodded and slid back into her own, eyes far more wary of her legs now.

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

"And you're quite certain they aren't aware of your monitoring?" Miranda asked, sitting in the comfortable chair of her office, one finger tapping out a rhythm on her desk. Chopin, she knew. She always defaulted either to him or to Mozart, if she was anxious for whatever reason. More to herself than the machine, she went on, "If they know, then this could be a front. Solus found _all_ of them easily enough. But why _fake it_? What end are they working towards?"

"I do not think they are aware." The machine answered, sprite projected next to her terminal screen. At a raised brow, the machine brought up a scan of the younger looking girl. It appeared to have been taken mid-stride, one leg bent and sweeping forward, and her arms swinging beside her. The scan itself was metallurgical, showing _extensive_ metal throughout her body. "Passive scans show almost nothing inside Penny Polendina aside from various metals and systems Cerberus has no frame of reference for. Penny also references being non-human. Which would match these scans in a very… Disheartening way."

"Indeed." She sighed, "Either she's artificial herself, or something was _done_ to her to make her think of herself as such."

"There are also the other anomalies in their conversation to consider, however." The AI added, "Their reference to 'gods' is odd. And a war among them."

"Code, perhaps?" For what, though, she had _no_ idea. Cerberus' contacts and informants said nothing outside of the norm was happening. There were numerous minor conflicts breaking out, of course, but _none_ could be thought of as a 'war among the gods' or any other such thing. Unless… "No, it can't be literal. It is simply unfeasible. EDI, keep observing, and keep digging."

"Yes, Miranda." The machine murmured, sparking out a moment later.

"A war among the gods…" Their mere _existence_ was impossible by any metric she had ever referenced or tested. It had to be code for something. Which implied that they were working with an organized group, one that would… "EDI," the machine's interface flicked up again, the machine always observing every room of the ship even if she 'left' as she had before, "pull up any and every record we have gotten of the Morning War and Geth code samples. Also, compare these cybernetics to Geth robotics. Look for references to Geth theism."

"Yes, Miranda." The AI responded shortly, quickly bringing up the information. Geth, due to their relationship to the Reapers, had plenty of files and Cerberus research done on them. A vast amount of which had been copied to the _Normandy_ in case it was needed. "The Geth are known to have worshipped the Reaper Sovereign. Direct references are not known, but they do have a history of theism."

"And cybernetics." Reaper designed though they had been, Saren Arterius had had _Geth_ tech in his body. Enough of what little remained after his death had been pilfered by Cerberus to determine that much. As such, "EDI I am ordering you to system defense level three. Monitor _all_ conversations, habits and transmissions coming from those two."

"Yes, Miranda." Again, the machine's response was short and clipped. "Shall I compile a front-report of the situation for the commander as well?"

"No, focus on your task." She answered, standing and running a finger through her hair. "I will notify the Commander of the possible Geth threat. Where is she at the moment?"

"One moment." The AI requested, attention flicking along the ship's camera network, looking for the woman. After a moment, and sounding oddly _amused_, the machine reported, "She is currently beating Pyrrha Nikos into the deck of the storage bay. Sparring, it would seem."

"Ah." Well, that was inconvenient and convenient at the same time, somehow. Regardless, she headed towards the door, one hand snapping up her Predator as she went. In a fight, her Biotics were what counted the most, but one never knew what to expect.

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

_**Apologies for the late post. Power got disconnected for a hot minute for most of the day, so am running behind. Dealt with now, though. Just gotta sort out rent now, somehow. Roommate lost their job at the start of the month and ugh, trying to catch up is a pain. If the Landlord can just wait for the sixth, it will be fine, but dunno. Just kinda hopin' for a solution at this point, or hands to help.**_

_**Whatever happens, though, y'all keep reading and I'll keep posting. Rain or shine, hell or high water.**_

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

_**Seanklovett :**_

**Glad you are enjoying!**

_**Someguy the Anon :**_

**Thanks!**

_**The Prime Cronos :**_

**Yeah, I always thought the Dark God got kind of undercut by Light. And Dark seems to have certain wishes that go against Light's. But Light seems to domineer over him far too much. **

_**Black Magic :**_

**Yeah, I don't do that in media. Dark and light are subjective and EVERYTHING is messy and complicated. That is JUST how it is. And I at least ATTEMPT to show that. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.**

_**ZR Stein :**_

**No, it's not bad at all! That is my directive in this story. Them being close is a HUGE facet of this story and its themes. An android, the android's killer, and a literal monster god, being friends regardless of WHAT they are because they like each other.**

_**Howell :**_

**The panic about Penny isn't around, yet. Hue hue hue~**

_**Blaiseingfire :**_

**Yeah, she has balls of TITANIUM.**

_**Frosty Chops :**_

**Generally, yes, she needs contact. That fight scene KINDA breaks that rule, but I largely ignore it in favor of more serious scenes more firmly explaining her Semblance. Also, she DOES have some ME stuff. A sealed and lightly armored bodysuit and an Omni-Tool, for now. More may come later, but she DOES have those now.**


	17. Automata - Part II

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

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_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

"Her partner is either synthetic completely, and _very_ well designed if that is the case, or heavily cybernetically enhanced." The Cerberus agent finished, stood in front of Shepard in her quarters, completely apathetic to her state of undress after her desperately needed post-spar shower. With a sense of finality, the woman clasped her hands behind her back and finished, "Enhanced to a degree that even Cerberus is likely unable to do without exorbitant costs comparable to what it cost to bring _you_ back from the brink. And given her reference to 'gods', and acknowledgment of Polendina's nature, Nikos is not ignorant."

"More likely, if this _is_ a Geth plant, she's in on it. One Cerberus told me to recruit." She left unsaid how big a fuck up _that_ was, and what it reflected onto Cerberus itself. Though, judging from the woman's pursed lips, the Commander didn't _need_ to say it at all. Sighing, the soldier continued pulling on her bodysuit and asked, "What do you recommend, then?"

"Capture them both, submit them to Cerberus interrogation, then disassemble the synthetic to study and use Nikos for research into super soldiers of our own." The woman answered quickly, having obviously already thought the matter through. Probably before she even came to meet her in Engineering or, failing that, in the scant few minutes she spent in the shower. At a raised eyebrow, and the silent demand for more that came with it, the woman explained, "Using Polendina we could gain a large amount of insight into cybernetics and energy systems, which would allow us to repair wounded soldiers readily. Nikos' 'Aura' poses obvious advantages as well, alongside the chance to find more like her."

"Her home." Shepard nodded, "Mistral."

"Indeed." Miranda smiled and returned the gesture, seemingly proud that they were able to reach the same conclusion. Still smiling, though for different reasons now if the Commander had to guess, she went on, "Imagine a shock infantry force capable of shock tactics and sustain maneuvers the way she clearly is. An entire _army_ of people able to fight Krogan would be an undeniable advantage against the Reapers."

"It would be, yeah." And she could imagine how hungry the Alliance _and_ Cerberus would be for it. And even then, that was presuming Auras only came in Humans from Nikos' home. If normal Humans, or even aliens, could do it too?

They would have a whole new kind of force multiplier on the board and one that, uniquely, the Reapers would have _no_ counter to.

"You have EDI monitoring them both?" Shepard asked quietly, turning to lean back against her desk and rolling her shoulders to adjust the Cerberus uniform she'd finally zipped up. When the Biotic nodded, Shepard clicked her tongue, thinking through her orders rapidly for the last time. Satisfied, she began to rattle them out at lightning speed, "Continue monitoring them quietly, and alert the chiefs of deck security that they are _being_ monitored. I want a no-approach protocol in place, though."

"May I ask why?"

"I don't want to spook them if they _are_ indoctrinated plants." The obvious reason being that angering a potentially indoctrinated young woman who could move metal inside a _metal warship_ didn't need to be said. Miranda nodded and her better went on, "Also, if they _aren't_," and her instincts, for some reason, urged her to that answer, "then I don't want to put them out or make an enemy out of them. Nikos' people could end up being _just_ as valuable to us either way, and as an enemy she won't be incentivized to lead us _to_ them."

"I understand, Commander. I'll see your orders dispersed to those who need to know about them." And even if she disagreed in a couple channels, Shepard suspected that she'd obey regardless.

Tim's instructions were to do so, after all, and she was a _very_ loyal hound.

"How long until we're in-system for our operation on Korlus, EDI?" She asked, now that the matter of observing the self-titled 'Huntress' had been settled.

"We will reach the Eagle Nebula in a little under four days, Commander." The machine reported instantly.

"Send word to Massani, Vakarian and… Nikos. I want them all geared and ready for landfall as soon as we are in-system and can disembark. Calculate the time out, notify myself and my team, I want it down to the minute." The briefing on Korlus had listed it as a bumfuck nowhere trash heap populated by mercenaries, after all, and she didn't fancy sticking around any longer than strictly required. To Miranda, she explained shortly, "The area is nothing _but_ metal, more or less, and I want to field test them apart. See if they're alright being separated. I suspect spies wouldn't."

"Ah." The woman nodded, "I understand, Commander. And… Thank you for explaining."

"Not a problem." She'd been in her shoes, now and again, with having to adjust to no longer being the one leading the deck. It was normal, and she knew how to handle it as well. Giving the woman a nod and waving towards the door, she grunted, "Now if you don't mind, I'm taking a few hours to myself. Personal time."

"Understood, Commander." The woman nodded, turning to leave.

Shepard waited until after the door had been shut for fifteen seconds to do anything, assuming that would be long enough for her to get into the lift and start heading down. Pushing off her desk she groaned, collapsing into her seat and pinching the bridge of her nose. Nothing could ever be _simple_…

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

A few days passed by rather swiftly, filled with sparring sessions, exercise and movie night with Penny just before mission day. The young woman enjoyed romance and action, oddly enough, rather than anything more to what Pyrrha would have expected the bubbly girl to be interested in. Kelly, their Yeoman, had joined them for the movie, from which they'd drawn their selection for the evening. Or, well, for the afternoon they _treated_ as an evening, as she had to be awake and alert at just past three in the morning by the standardised time.

On-planet, she'd been told, it was expected to be the _afternoon_.

Because everything was topsy turvy in space, apparently.

Regardless, she smiled tiredly as she stepped into the galley and nodded to the chef waiting on her. "Mess Sergeant Gardner. G'morning."

"G'_night_ more like." He grunted, smiling good naturedly and nodding a greeting regardless. As she sat down he sauntered over to her and sighed, setting down a large tray for her. "Eggs, sausage, biscuits n' browns. Juice n' water, too. You Biotics get all the good grub."

"I'm not actually-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Special hippity hoppity bullshit." The man waved her off as Zaeed joined her and he turned, trotting off to get his morning meal too. They'd all been told to list what they wanted to eat before missions to let Gardner prepare them more readily, so he didn't need to order anymore than she had.

"Good-"

"Marghl." He partially grunted, partially murmured, and _totally_ growled at her like a crotchety old man might. A mug of coffee was set in front of him that he took a long drink from before grunting a short, simple, "Not a mornin' person."

Well, that was fair, she supposed. And he hadn't been _terribly_ rude, by what she understood to be his standards at least, so she simply shrugged it off and set to work on her own rather hearty meal. A bit much for her, she felt, with a _lot_ of heavy sitting aspects to the meal. But then, they wouldn't reach the area of the mission for an hour yet, and travel there would be another half of one, so she was sure that she wouldn't be too heavy in the stomach to fight if it came to it.

Or rather, _when_ it came to it.

"Thanks, kid." Zaeed grunted when she slid him a biscuit she caught him eyeing hungrily. Taking a hunk out of it before the mess sergeant could catch him, he bumped an elbow into her and grunted amicably. "You're not a total cunt after all, Red."

From him she supposed it was a great compliment, and so she smiled and murmured a bemused, "Thank you."

Archangel - Garrus, that was - arrived a scant few minutes later and took a small silver tube Gardner offered him. Special rations for Turians and Quarians, she knew, since their DNA was so drastically different from her own. Enough so they could get sick - or even _die_ \- from eating anything she had on the plate. Soon, Shepard joined them, murmuring her own good mornings and sitting across from her with a lighter meal before her. For a few minutes their foursome ate quietly, in an amicable early morning peace.

"Commander, we're closing in on the launch location.." Joker said over the ship intercom, prompting the fireteam to start clambering up and out of the benches they'd been eating at. As they did, stacking their plates and utensils in the middle and chugging drinks, the pilot kept talking. "Fifteen minutes out. Should probably get done with breakfast so I can get a nap after pulling this double you put me on."

It felt good to be back in her armor, she decided as they cycled through the Armory to collect their gear together and then climbed into the lift to head to Engineering. The lightly armored bodysuit was tight, but she was used to it, and it served as a token of Legion's friendship. Something she found valuable in and of itself. Her Mistrali armor needed no explanation as to the comfort it bright, of course. With both on, and her weapons' familiar weights on her back as well, she felt at home once again.

Though the silver of the space ship's interior did somewhat detract from that, even if it couldn't rob her of her good mood entirely.

"Friend Pyrrha!" A familiar voice called as the lift opened, Penny awake and smiling, dressed in her pajamas and looking tired. When EDI had chimed in to wake her up, Penny had been woken up as well. Like a little bullet, she slammed into the Mistralian's stomach in a hug, pushing her back into Garrus for the force. "I wanted to wish you good luck on your mission, since EDI woke me up!"

"I apologized for that already…"

"It's fine, Friend Space Ship." Penny assured her, letting Pyrrha go and turning to the other three as they shuffled by and towards the waiting shuttle. "I wish you all a good mission as well, friends!"

"Not your friend…"

"You forgot to add the 'yet', future friend Zaeed!" The android chimed, waving as she bounced by. As the elevator doors slid shut in front of her she began talking rapidly and energetically, slowly crouching as the doors closed in front of her so that she was always in view. "Just remember that as my father always said, friends who destroy expensive mercenary gunships together stay together!"

"...The fuck?" Zaeed grunted after a long pause, turning to Pyrrha beside him and gesturing at the door. Waving his hand he added, almost pleadingly, "The fuck, though, Red? Just… The fuck?"

"You get used to it." '_Or go insane.'_ Though she didn't add the second part, merely patting his shoulder and stepping into the shuttle to take a seat.

"Well, unless we want to drive the crazy, sociopathic mercenary any _crazier_, "Joker cut in to prompt, "we're at our launch point, and using stealth systems. Gonna get hot while we wait, so might wanna run before the _Normandy_ becomes this system's largest oven. And that's not a record I wanna run for. I hate running."

"Only thing you get to break is bones, Joker." The Commander called, laughing at the man's beleaguered sigh and stepping into the little shuttle.

Zaeed climbed in after the Commander, murmuring that he just had to focus on his paycheck and he'd be fine. The Mistralian chuckled but otherwise, no one really made a sound as the shuttle lifted off and turned to drop out of the _Normandy_ and into the cold of space. As the engines whined and the shuttle trembled with their efforts, she let her head lean back against the cool hull of the craft to wait out the ride in content excitement.

Visiting a new world? It sounded exciting, and Korlus _had_ to be nicer than Omega had been.

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

Korlus was, she decided the _moment_ she stepped out of the shuttle and smelled it, not nicer than Omega. The shuttle had let them out at the far edge of a seak of destroyed, rusted ship hulks, with a single walkway leading in flanked by mounds of debris and ancient looking ship hulls. Under her feet wasn't even proper _dirt_, for the most part. Rather it was metal caked in grime and dust that _looked_ like soil, which the partially broken and very rusted barriers were part of. A fact that gave her the distinct feeling they weren't on the _ground, _per se, but rather they were atop the hull of an ancient ship that had become as the ground. And then it had been layered with even _more_ stacked ships of various sizes and scopes, stretching around her in every direction.

It was breathtaking, in a depressing, 'makes you feel like an ant' sort of way.

"Nikos, front rank, tank. Massani behind her, support with your rifle. Vakarian and I in the rear." The Commander ordered, helmet on and voice clipped in the fashion of shoulders. With a flick, Pyrrh's sword extended into a spear and she took her point position, fingers flexing along it. "Nikos, if you can, get into melee. Knock 'em out if you can, or just distract them and we'll pick them off from a distance. Standard Citadel ROEs. No executing downed combatants unless they try something, and accept surrenders. Maybe we can get some information as we go."

"Citadel rules of engagement?" Zaeed grunted, sounding flabbergasted but looking over his Vindicator idly. Like he'd expected this to come, and was resigned to it even if on principle he was going to complain about it. "In the _Terminus_? Might as well take my goddamn rifle away and make me ask 'em nicely to give up."

"Orders are orders…"

"Spoken like a true Turian." Massani grumbled, shaking his head and rolling his eyes when the Commander only cocked her head at him for it. Waving her off he moved past the two marksmen and towards the Mistralian, "Yeah, yeah, I got it. Goddamn soldier boys."

Orders given, and Zaeed's complaining subsided to a quiet grumble in the background, they began to make their way forward. With each step they took she could hear the echoes of their footfalls below them, carrying across some empty, likely inaccessible cavity within the ancient hulk. Around them she could hear the same kinds of intermittent groans as old houses, their foundations and structures eternally sinking, settling and resettling. Every now and again she could make out the distant _clang_ of falling metal, alongside the echoes of gunshots beginning to carry through the wreck and around them as they walked.

"Commander…"

"I hear it, Garrus." The woman nodded, adjusting the grip on her sniper rifle warily. "Nikos, set the pace. Rapid advance, close with whoever you find first. I want at _least_ one alive after for interrogation."

A chorus of affirmations followed her command and Pyrrha took off, jogging briskly down the path and listening to the sounds of their armor behind them to know how fast they could go.

The end of their path was marked out rather dramatically by a ship that had come down on the one they were walking on, crushing through half of the ship and destroying their 'naturally' marked out path. A raised section of the same ship that had destroyed their path made up a _new_ one, hooking to the right away from a corner made by the larger section of the ship to their left, forming a massive wall no one had any inclination to climb. A white painted arrow pointed to the right, along the path, and had written under it 'Outpost Zeta', alongside a handful of other faded scribbles behind it in various colors.

'Outpost Zeta', as it turned out, was a simple raised platform built roughly out of the scrap metal around them. Like a tower that had been built up on the path, with a ramp on their side and a ramp on the opposite side, and high walls to either side. In the middle a low barrier had been built, for cover in either direction. A half dozen Blue Suns mercenaries manned the watch tower with their backs to them, using the low half-cover and the side of the doorless entryways as cover against the veritable hail of fire that buffeted them.

"Nikos, charge." Shepard ordered unnecessarily, "Massani with her, Vakarian and I will cover at range."

One spotted her sprinting towards them and stood, talon pointing towards her as he made to call out a warning. A warning that died with him as two heavy rounds punched into him, one to the chest and other into his throat, pitching him over the half-cover he'd been occupying. That drew the attention of a young looking Human who turned to them in shock, and met the same fate, head evaporating as a round punched into it and simply _deleted_ the man's extremity. Two deaths to cover her advance up the open, well-lit path and ramp.

A scant few seconds she'd needed to reach them, which had cost two lives.

But now she was on them, leaping through the door and vaulting the barrier in one huge leap. She pushed off the barrier with her arm and Semblance both, rocketing her forward into a Turian in cover by the door. Her heels slammed into his rifle and crushed through it, into his chest to drive him into the wall. Using him as a springboard she leapt off and spun, spotting a second mercenary scrambling back from the other side of the door and flailing with a Vindicator. Using her momentum and, again, her Semblance she spun in the air to build up even more centrifugal force, launching her shield into the man's weapon and ruining it entirely.

A Turian, seeing her too close for his heavy looking rifle, abandoned it and launched towards her with her talons bared. She caught one claw swipe on her arm, Aura sparking as it landed, and stepped in to slam her shoulder into him. Physical contact made with his chest she held a hand towards him, fingers curled invisibly to 'grip' his armor and then turned, pitching him into the Human rifleman whose weapon she'd ruined. The weight of the Turian knocked him for a loop, and a boot to the face sent the Turian into sleep.

A rifle clicked to the floor and her spear snapped up to the throat of another man, his hands in the air and voice quivering, "I surrender, but the Krogan are insane! L-Like animals, you have to-!"

"Got it." She grunted as Zaeed reached the checkpoint and grabbed the man by his collar, snarling something she missed.

Down the ramp the path opened up into a wide platform covered in the dead, Blue Suns mercenaries and Krogan alike, spread out over a dozen yards in any direction. The battle had been quick and brutal, whittling the numbers of both sides down to what she'd torn through and leaving only a pair of Krogan warriors alive and standing. They both saw her at the same time, raising the pilfered Blue Suns rifles and grinning ferally.

Those grins vanished when her shield shot back to her arm and she charged, though, for obvious reasons.

Sprinting towards them she raised her shield as one opened fire, the rounds sparking off her armored defense and her Aura both. Spinning and stepping to the side to evade the worst of the withering fire she hurled the shield the scant few yards towards them, catching the shooter's rifle along the barrel assembly and ruining the weapon. He snarled and pitched it to the side, charging forward as his fellow raised his rifle, rounds searing through the air as she closed with the Krogan.

Whose head vanished with a familiar crack-crack of rifle fire, courtesy of the Commander's semi-automatic rifle.

As he fell she used him as a springboard, sprinting up his hide and leaping high, over the head over her opponent who watched on with wide eyes as she went. Landing, she called her shield to her and was one him before he could turn and bring his rifle to bear. Her shield struck him across the face to dislodge the rifle stuck to it and carved through the softer hide around his eyes, earning a howl of anger as much as pain as he staggered back. From behind him, automatic fire ripped into his back, forcing him forward and against her, where she took the opportunity to slam a shoulder into his chest. He laughed at the ineffective check, ignoring the pain from the rounds carving into his spine and closing his arms around her to crush her, but she only sighed.

With a herculean force of Semblance backed will she pitched him to the side and over the edge, letting him fall to wherever the platform's base had been built, far below.

"Fuckin' hell." Zaeed murmured as she returned to the raised lookout post, looking no worse for wear even after having rushed headlong into automatic fire. The only one to have _not_ personally seen her in combat, he gave her a gaping-mouth look and asked, quietly, "What in the bloody god damn are _you_, you psychotic cunt?"

"A Huntress." She answered with a shrug as she stepped by him and into the lookout tower, the man himself staying outside to keep watch and grumble to himself about 'every goddamn redhead being crazy'.

That at least earned a laugh from her, if only a quiet one.

The four prisoners had, in the short time she'd been gone, been set against the right wall, arms and legs bound behind them. Two were still unconscious, laid back against it and only shifting occasionally in their sleep. Of the two conscious, one was silent with his head bowed and the other, who had surrendered, was rattling off his explanations animatedly, evidently terrified.

And not of the Krogan, either, judging from how his wide eyes turned to her when she returned. Playing into it so they could more easily get their information, she smiled, cocked a hip to rest a hand on, and reported, "I dealt with the Krogan, Commander. We're safe."

"Thank you, Nikos." She answered, gesturing at the trussed up mercenary in front of her. "Our friend here was just explaining why the god damn Krogan outside were attacking them. Right, buddy?"

"I-I don't know, I swear!" Oddly enough, he was speaking to _her_, not the Commander, almost pleading with her to believe him. Still focused on her, he went on, "I-I don't know why, but all the Krogan Okeer was experimenting on got loose. Normally they stay in their little… Pod, incubator, _things_ until Okeer ejects them out into the Hulkyard."

"The Hulkyard?"

"It's, uh, our name for this stretch of the junk." He answered, finally turning to speak to the Commander herself. "These junk heaps stretch for miles, but these are more… Well, cleaned up, than the other areas are. We moved 'em around, built these catwalks and stuff to use the old hulks for living and working quarters."

"Why are you here at all, though?" The Commander asked, "Why set up here? Salvage?"

"I mean, partially, yeah. Sometimes we find good bits to sell in the Terminus, or even sometimes ships we can fix and sell off. Spare parts to hock at the Quarians whenever their outrider ships pop in-system, too." The man shrugged simply at the obviousness of it, "Mostly, though, we use it for training. Scrap is everywhere and with this variety, we can train recruits to fight inside ships or, if we set it up right, buildings."

"And the Krogan?"

"Aside from live-fire target practice for better trained recruits that need it?" He shook his head, anxious for not having better answers, "I don't know, Ma'am. Commander Jedore keeps a lid on it."

"And she's with Okeer?" He nodded and the woman turned, looking out towards the body-littered catwalk on the other side of the outpost. His gaze followed hers as best it could from where he was kneeling and, dramatically, the woman mused. "Not doing a good job at keeping him under control, then. Maybe you should send me his way so I can put an end to this _before_ the psychotic Krogan experiments come and eat you?"

"Y-Yeah, sure." The man stammered, nodding his head towards the door, "You just have to follow the catwalks for about a mile. At the end of the, uh, path, you'll find an old freighter turned on its rear. The lab is on the other side of that. Area is crawlin' with Krogan, though, so there's bound to be Mercenaries there."

"Don't worry," the woman consoled him, leaning over to lay a hand on his bare head, fingers gripping his hair, "we won't let the _Krogan_ kill all your friends. So," she grunted, standing while his terrified eyes followed her, "we're going to leave. If you or your friends here follow us, or call ahead, we'll know and we _will_ kill you. Clear?"

"C-Crystal, ma'am!"

"Good." She turned, heading for the door with Pyrrha and Garrus following behind her quietly, "C'mon. We have work to do."

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

_**Tried to more closely match how Pyrrha moves and fights in the show in this chapter. Felt a bit chaotic and messy to me, but input is welcome to that end.**_

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

_**TPoynt :**_

**Pyrrha is aware AIs are illegal, and has an **_**inkling**_ **of how people react to them based on Legion's implications about the Geth. But no, they don't **_**know**_ **how the galaxy views AI, nor do they know how they react. They just know it ain't good.**

_**Frosty Chops :**_

**She's just the best, yeah.**

_**Scrub Lord :**_

**Oh **_**there's**_ **a fic idea… Also, there are cameras throughout the **_**Normandy**_**. As established by cameras and recording devices being the plot element causing problems here.**

_**Unknown Man :**_

'**Gynoid' is simply the female alternative to 'Android'. I will **_**try**_ **not to use it to not bother you but might forget. So make a note and you should be able to reference it. Apologies for the inconvenience.**

_**Blaiseing Fire :**_

**...I am not giving Penny a pet Collector.**

**Stop with the puppy dog eyes.**

_**Someguy the Anon :**_

**XD**

_**Dr Killinger :**_

**The point of that instruction was to wait for evidence to come to her naturally, or for THEM to admit to things. AIs and indoctrinated individuals are risky enough, though, that Miranda would feel a need to brief the Commander on the suspicion.**

_**Jubilee Marie :**_

**It's a Supporter request so it will continue until they cancel it or it finishes, no worries.**

**Yo! Jubilee I'm glad that you are enjoying my little brainchild. Without Twisted here writing it, it would've just sat in the back of my mind. **

**And Thank You Everyone Else For Reading**

**From, Espacole**


	18. Automata - Part III

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

_**Official Supporters: **_

_**Priests, **_**The Impossible Muffin**_**, **_**Xager the Chaos King.**

_**Adeptus, **_**Private Wilger**

_**Ze Nope Rope, **_**Kaiser Snek, Snekiest Snek**

_**Acolytes, **_**DigiDemonLord**_**,**_ **Cheeseberry**

_**Initiates,**_ **Greg Gibson, Espacole**_****_

_**If you want to be on the Supporter list, PM one of us for details or join our private server for details. Hope you enjoy reading my stories, please leave me a comment to let me know if you did, or where I can improve. Link here, where able to be seen : **__** /2UZncAm**_

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_**I have a kofi account now, too, under this name for those interested.**_

_**Beta(s) : **_

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

"Good work, Penny. You're doin' fine." Friend Jacob complimented her, circling the small table she was working at in the middle of the armory and watching her work. Like a hawk watching its chick, and she couldn't decide whether she or the broken Predator were the chick.

It was the same table he maintained the crew's weapons on, as much a table as a workbench with little recessed drawers on the sides filled with the tools of his trade. Screwdrivers, hammers, wrenches and all kinds of other niche little tools and fastenings she hadn't recognized but that he had happily explained to her when she asked. With Best Friend Pyrrha having fun down on Korlus, she'd been left alone, and Mordin had rapidly busied with his experiments and tests. Soon, Penny had concluded that he would remain busy long enough that she should head out.

Friend Jacob, on the other hand, had been bored and lacking in _anything_ to do except tinker. When she'd once again expressed an interest in learning, he smiled and waved for her to come over for a lesson.

"That weapon has a problem in it's firing system. Its thermal clip is over filling with heat each time it fires." He explained kindly as he reached the other side of the table. A single long, dark skinned finger stretched out to tap the still mostly-assembled barrel assembly to point out where he suspected the problem to be and he ordered firmly, "See if you can identify the cause without help."

"Yes, Friend Jacob. I will certainly try my best at least!" He nodded and she returned the gesture, setting to work.

Unlike 'normal' girls her memory was excellent and she recalled his brief, quick and admittedly more simplistic explanations of the tools without fail. As such her hand found the little Omni-Driver in a drawer by her thigh. A simple scan along the weapon set it to automatically attune to the Predator's internal and external fastenings. Once it beeped its little confirmation that its scan was finished and it recognized the weapon, a twist of the handle set the Omni-Gel production unit in the grip working. From it came a glowing, orange little star-shaped driver head just like the screws that fastened together the Predator called for. Using it, she deftly began piecing apart the weapon to find its fault.

"The thermal coolant vent that runs along the firing barrel was damaged." She reported, holding the little strip of silver steel up and using the narrow head of the screwdriver to point out a scratch about the width of her pinky finger's nail and half its thickness. "The damage was slight, but it lowered thermal dissipation efficiency by thirty-two percent. Enough that it would dump more heat into the Thermal Clip to compensate."

"Yeah, that's exactly right." The man nodded, setting the damaged piece aside and handing her a new one. While she replaced it and pieced the weapon together he watched on, lips pursed and arms crossed. Quietly, he asked, "You sure you don't know anything about Eezo based weapons?"

"I didn't." She answered shortly, eyes flicking between each piece as she rapidly found what she needed with her off hand while her right reassembled the weapon properly. Quietly, she added, "Then you taught me, so now I know how to identify the parts and tools you showed me and work them."

"Yeah." He nodded, "And you picked it up right away. No mistakes."

"I, uh… I have an eidetic memory from my mother's side, so that's no problem for me, once I see it once- Hrk." She lied, a hand slapping over her mouth to stifle the hiccup that tried to force itself out. An unconscious measure insisted on by the General, so that she couldn't be easily turned against Atlas by any means and simply lie her way through it. A silly concern, but her father had relented rather than not build her. To Jacob, she lied again, "S-Sorry! I ate quickly this morning and now I have the hicc- Hrk!"

"Just don't throw up in my armory, kiddo." He chuckled, shaking his head and sighing. With a smile he nodded respectfully, "Eidetic memory huh? Damn. Some people get all the luck with stuff like that."

"I wouldn't say that…" She murmured, a hand unconsciously rubbing her bicep where her own cabling had once twined around her, ripping and tearing her to pieces. Quietly, she murmured, "Some things you want to forget, Jacob…"

"Kiddo...?"

"Oh, I'm sorry." She blinked the memories away quickly and picked up the reassembled Predator, turning to hand it to the worried, waiting man beside her. He took it gently and she smiled, asking, "Did I do it right, Friend Jacob? I replaced the thermal line like you said to, so the weapon's efficiency ratings should have returned to normal levels."

"...Yeah, I'll check it." The man nodded, setting it back on the table and running his glowing arm over it. It chimed a pleased little chim a moment later and he bobbed his head in satisfaction and surprise, giving her a small smile. "Back to one-hundred percent after the replacement. I doubt you have the minutiae of everything down, but… I have a feeling you'll pick up the tech stuff pretty damn quick."

"I have a… Special talent in learning things like this, thanks to my eidetic memory and interest in the matters." _That much_, it seemed luckily enough, didn't trigger her internal censorship program and yank a hiccup out of her. A small mercy, to which she assumed she could credit not mentioning her existentially challenged mother.

She was _not_ a good liar…

"Well whatever the hell is goin' on, you're a pretty quick learner." Jacob complimented, laying a hand on her head and ruffling her hair familiarly. A not altogether unpleasant, if somewhat more familiar than she would have preferred, thing. When she squirmed away he chuckled, turning to take a rifle off the wall, "I like that about you, kiddo. Now, want to move on to somethin' bigger than a dinky little Predator?"

"Oh, yes, please!" She bounced on her heels excitedly, looking at the bulkier Avenger as it extended. "I would very much enjoy learning how to make the Avenger kill things better!"

Hopefully, Pyrrha was having just as much fun down below, with the Commander on Korlus.

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

Stepping around the corner ahead of the others she was the first to see the heavy, armored door through which they expected to find the labs. Two final Blue Suns soldiers stood to either side of it, crouched behind thick decking and holding light assault rifles. One flinched on seeing her but the other stood, hefting his weapon and spraying an inaccurate burst that she let rake across her uselessly. Spinning on a heel she launched her shield across the hall and into his chest, slamming him back against the door and leaving him to slump over it like dinner over a platter.

She gave the other mercenary a look and he flinched, tossing his rifle over the low cover and letting it clank to the floor. Smiling, she nodded, "Wise decision." To the others behind her she added, "The guards on the door are done, Commander."

"Good work, Nikos." The soldier complimented as she stepped around the corner, chuckling at the trembling guard and his unconscious partner. "Well, Huntress, looks to me like your reputation is already spreading through the grapevine."

"Indeed it does…" And while she didn't like that violence was what she was known for, she _did_ know that she preferred it to the bloodier alternatives. Shrugging the matter off the Mistralian waved to the angry red lock on the door that signalled it was locked and asked, loudly enough the guard could very well hear and understand her point, "I do hope our new friend here doesn't mind letting us _through_, though. It would be so aggravating to have to find another way through…"

"H-He has the keycard!" The guard quickly answered, pointing a long and armored finger at the unconscious man across the small pathway from them. "It's in an armored little pocket on his hip, under your… Uh, your shield, ma'am."

Finding it under her shield she stood, showing it to the Commander who nodded and stepped back to lean against the heavy half walls that ran along the otherwise open-air walkway that connected the open platforms to the freighter the Blue Suns were hosted in. Gesturing at the open door past them, she ordered simply, "Take your friend and get out of here. Some of your fellow Suns are out there waiting. Take them and go."

"B-But if I just leave, Jidore will-"

"Not be a problem since my friend here," the Commander jerked a thumb at the seething Zaaed, "has a _big_ problem with the Suns. Specifically their leadership, if he knows 'em. Zaeed?"

"Hired the bitch m'self, way back when." The man grunted, drawing Pyrrha's curiosity. She didn't actually know much about the man bar his barely concealed hatred of the Blue Suns throughout the slugfest that had been Korlus. Baring his teeth, the man growled, "She was one'a the ones that helped that future fuck nugget I told ya 'bout."

"She won't be leaving here in one piece, don't you worry." The Commander filled in, giving Pyrrha herself a long look to tell her it wasn't up for debate. She didn't _like it_, of course, but there was nothing she could do for it so she nodded. Mirroring the gesture, the more heavily armored woman jerked her head back the way they'd come again and shrugged, "Through the door now or I let Zaeed express deliver you to the ground floor. I'm sure he'd enjoy it."

"Damn straight." The man chuckled, cracking his knuckles, and laughing, "Only lettin' ya go because I don't feel like pissing off Red there."

"I-I…" He stammered but trailed off in thought for a moment.

Finally he nodded quietly, pulled his friend across his shoulders in a fireman carry and rushed off to anywhere that _didn't_ have four angry people staring at him. Or, well, one angry person, one bored woman, a Turian, and a woman who simply ignored bullets and beat people unconscious with a shield. Potato, tomato, she figured.

"So we have a locked door." Shepard prompted them after a moment, drawing their attention onto her. Cocking her head she asked, almost playfully in spite of the corpses and wounded not a dozen feet away beyond the door and outer hull of another ancient, dessicated hulk, "Hey Nikos, who do you think gets to take point position?"

"Right." Her Aura was at about half now, after everything, so she was still more or less bulletproof. Raising her shield arm, keycard that would electronically undo the lock in her hand behind it, she sighed, "On your word then, Commander."

Beyond the door was a small laboratory of sorts, though it at first appeared more as a morgue, which seemed to have been made inside a rather large _airlock_. To one side were rows of several trolleys, two filled by the stiff corpses of the Krogan they'd been fighting for an hour now. A third on the bed closest to them had been covered up, a folder set at its feet for reference. On the other side of the small room was a veritable _wall_ of computers and shelves, the latter stacked high with more generic sorts of laboratory equipment. At the end of it, in front of the door further into the complex that was the ship, was a simple metal desk with glass walls.

Inside which, in spite of the _glass walls_, an Asari had curled into a tight little ball.

"Um…" Kneeling, Pyrrha tapped a knuckle against the glass of the desk, drawing wide off-blue eyes to her. Smiling reassuringly, she asked as gently as she could manage, lest she scare the poor thing, "Are… Are you, um, well?"

"I-I…" Slowly, her eyes slid past her own to look over her shoulder where the others had coalesced, Zaeed the only one paranoidly looking out for traps. Like a shot from a gun she bolted, out from under the desk and onto her feet, pointing a long finger at the Commander and shouting, "Y-You're supposed to be dead!"

"Do I know…" The soldier's words cut off and as Pyrrha stood she shoved past her, grabbing the Asari by the throat and shoving her several feet into the wall, holding her there. While the woman pawed at her armored wrist, Shepard almost shouted, "Rana Thanoptis! How am I not surprised someone like _you_ would be involved in something like this?"

"W-Wait, you don't understand- Ack!" Shepard silenced whatever argument she was going to make with a jerk, pulling her forward and slamming her back against the wall. Strained, the woman choked out, "I-I don't even know how you're a-alive! What is happ- Hrk!"

"I. Got. Better." Shepard snarled, pointing a finger in the woman's face and growling, feral and near mad. "But it looks like I'm the _only_ one who 'got better'. Doesn't it, Garrus? Hell, she's even working on Krogan again!"

"Nope." Garrus answered, stepping up beside the Commander while Pyrrha and Zaeed watched on confusedly. Presumably for their benefit since their confusion was evident enough, he explained, "Thanoptis here is a _very_ accomplished doctor. So much so Saren noticed her, back before the attack on the Citadel. Had you working on Krogan too, didn't he?"

"I'm…" The Asari choked, beating against her assailant's hand desperately, but couldn't get anything out.

"Nuh uh, Red." Zaeed grunted when Pyrrha moved forward, his hand gripping her arm at the wrist to catch her. Shepard turned to look over her shoulder, light glinting off her visor and hiding her eyes, and Zaeed yanked her back a bit. Stepping in front of her a little, he grunted, "Hard for blue tits there to answer questions without _air_, eh, Commander? Might wanna ease off a bit."

"..."

"Or don't." He shrugged, adjusting his rifle in one hand across his chest, the other gripped tightly around her sword-arm to keep her still. Finally letting her go and stepping back into her to force her back a step, he finished, "Just sayin', Commander. Ain't my problem, but doin' something hasty won't help anyone get anywhere. And comin' from me, that's rich enough you should probably listen."

"...Fine." The woman grunted, turning and shoving the Asari back towards them. Garrus stepped to the side to avoid her but Pyrrha surged forward, past Zaeed, to catch the choking woman. Shepard only demanded, "Explain yourself, Thanoptis. And be sure to include why I should _not_ take you out on the catwalk, put a bullet in your spine and toss you over the lip."

"That's specific…" Garrus murmured, giving the Mistralian a look when her glare shot up at the threat.

"I-I'm doing the same thing as I was _trying_ to do under Saren!" The woman answered after she'd caught her breath, pushing off of Pyrrha and staggering to her desk. When Shepard only snorted in shock and amusement that _that_ was her explanation, the Asari went on, bringing up files on her terminal. "I'm trying to _help people_, I mean. Mostly the Krogan, just like under Saren."

"It sure looks like it." Shepard murmured, bobbing her head at the corpses. "How'd _they_ enjoy your 'help'?"

"Okeer's methods, not mine." She grimaced, looking over the bodies and then sighed and shaking her head. "Nonviable clones. I want a cure to the Genophage, an end to all of the… An end. But Okeer?" She scoffed, stepping aside and gesturing at the terminal, "Okeer wants warriors, born and bred for him to lead, and that are immune to the disease completely. _I _want a cure. But Jidore gives him all the funding-"

"Because she wants a Krogan army." Garrus rumbled sardonically, his 'lucky' guess drawing the woman's once again anxious eyes to him. Clicking his mandible he noted, "You _do_ seem to be the go to for twisted little psychopaths to get their made to order Krogan armies, after all."

"That is _not_ why I am here." She assured them, tone sliding from confidence and into pleading like water rolling down a hill. Waving her hand at the terminal she pleaded to Shepard and the Turian both, since they had been the ones to speak against her the most. "You have the files right here. I unlocked _all_ of them for you to have! Proof of _my_ goals. I just want to help people."

"And working for, in order, war criminals, mercenary lords and _war criminals_, is the way to do that?" Shepard chuckled, "Wish someone had told me. Would've gone into a different line of work."

"It _is_ the way when no one else in the _galaxy_ will pursue the kind of research you want to pursue!" The Asari argued hotly, gesturing at the dead Krogan on the table and then her terminal meaningfully. "I don't like this part, but I don't get to choose my partners very easily. Wealth to fund it, a lack of care for common law, and sympathy for the _Krogan_ in any way aren't exactly common traits to be shared by one person. Say what you will, _do_ what you will to me, but I can't just… Let this _genocide_ go because it's _quiet enough_ for your comfort!"

"That isn't your decision to make."

"We all make decisions that aren't ours to make." She countered quietly, "Uplifting the Krogan was unnatural and done for the wrong reasons. _That_ wasn't our decision to make."

"We had no choice in the matter!" Garrus argued hotly, as though something personal had been stung by her words. What it was Pyrrha didn't know, stood in the back of the room beside Zaeed, watching the entire argument play out like one might a performance in a theater. "If we hadn't done that then _worse_ would have happened to the galaxy thanks to the damn Rachni. What, you think the damn Krogan would have enjoyed Rachni liveships landing on their surface while they have arcady gunpowder weapons and hammers?"

"And I don't have a choice either." Rana finished, eyeing the two who'd argued with her warily. "I can't leave this sitting. And like I said, you have access to my terminal. You can see how my methods differ from Okeer's. If a Krogan is dead already I'll test their body and collect samples, but that's it. So just… Do whatever you're going to do to me already but know that I won't stop trying to help the Krogan."

"...Leave the terminal and get out." Shepard ordered quietly, grabbing the Asari by her fitted suit and shoving her towards the door they'd come in through. She staggered and turned back, and the Commander added threateningly, "And don't forget we have your terminal. I'm going to put a fine toothed comb through it and if we find _anything_ that makes me think letting you go _twice_ is a mistake… Well, you know."

"Yeah, I do." The Asari murmured, "Now if you'll excuse me, I know how you work, so I'm going to get as far away from here as possible before you nuke the place."

"Come on." Shepard growled as the Asari disappeared behind the closing door, vanishing to sprint away now that she'd been allowed to. Turning her back on the door, the woman finished simply, "Let's get Okeer and get out of here already. I'm just about done with this dump of a planet."

Silent and wary of the woman's apparently mounting anger, the threesome followed her through the door.

The next room was far larger than the airlock laboratory they'd come from, twice its height and maybe five times its length. Every wall save the one immediately to their right was covered up to the halfway point in buzzing, working terminals. Above those were thick pipes and newer looking cabling, spindling around the room like a web from which hung a single silver pod. Inside which rested a single Krogan, his eyes closed and chest rising gently in the suspension fluid he'd been grown in.

"Finally, you reach me." The Krogan standing beside the pod rumbled, not even bothering to turn to speak to them. Waving a hand at the monitor above his, they could see a security feed of the platform outside. His way of explaining what he said next, Pyrrha supposed as he finally turned to them, nodding respectfully as their leader stepped forward, "Commander Shepard, it's… Intriguing to see you, shall we say."

"You don't seem surprised to see me."

"Should I?" He rumbled a growl and, after a moment, Pyrrha realized he was laughing. Turning back to his work he went on, "Who else could come here in a Cerberus ship, yet land with the Archangel of Omega on her team? Not only that, but you field the Huntress and the founder of the Blue Suns as ground infantry. What other Human woman wears that armor, fights with that rifle, and could field such a team?"

"Fair enough." Shepard nodded, seemingly bemused by the warlord's quick assumptions. For the stunned Vakarian's sake she asked, "How do you know he's the real Archangel, though? Far as we know, almost no one knows he didn't die on Omega."

"Hah!" The Krogan laughed, turning to give them a wide, toothy and feral smile, as though he were having fun at a game that Pyrrha couldn't recognize. "Are you suggesting I should think these worthless mercenaries could contend with Archangel when I know you went to his aid? Or did you expect me not to put two and two together when you came here with the Huntress in tow, and _she_ supposedly lead a Cerberus marked team on that mission."

"And you." He rumbled, turning fully to look at Pyrrha head on, fingers rolling into fists as he approached her. She didn't flinch, though her foot slid back in case he attacked, and the Krogan laughed in her face when she offered her shield hand to shake in greeting. "Offer one hand but arm the other. Wise, Human. Very wise indeed."

"Thank you…?"

"You are welcome." He answered, leaning close to take a deep draught of her scnet, the side of his face nearly touching her own. Still she held her ground and after a moment he stepped back, nodding, "I smell the blood of Krogans on you. I could scarcely believe my own eyes no matter how many times I saw you engage Krogan in hand to hand. I needed to smell it to be sure, but you… You are _unique_."

"I am, yes." Resurrected by a god, and gifted with powers outside the knowledge of this galaxy, she felt _that_ wasn't a brag.

He nodded and then, so suddenly even she almost couldn't react in time, his hand snapped up, Predator in hand. She grunted as the rounds punched against her chest and sparked away and staggered back a step. But only one, shield snapping up and around, catching the weapon and forcing it up before stepping in and slamming a fist into it. The warlord, laughing, grabbed her arm and turned, hurling her away and into the glass that dominated one wall. She grunted again as she impacted and slid down, ducking under another shot before snapping her hand out and up, crushing the weapon's barrel.

In the same moment, Shepard slammed into him, a titanic blow that forced him to a knee. Grinning, he turned to her and met her hand cannon, pressed into the flesh just below his crest. Quietly, the woman demanded, "Why the _hell_ did you just attack my teammate, Okeer?"

"A test." He laughed, rising in spite of the weapon aimed at his cranium. Warningly, she nudged it against him, and he chuckled. "You won't kill me, Human. You need my expertise and talents to help you combat the Collectors stealing your colonies, no?"

"You know about that…?"

"Of course I do, Archangel. Or do you prefer 'Vakarian'? Garrus, maybe? No, we aren't familiar enough for first names, I suspect." The Krogan answered, trundling back to his computer as the Turian grimaced. Returning to his work, the Krogan warlord went on, "I suppose I should name a price for my help, hm? I can't stay here any longer, and refuse to leave my perfect creature behind."

"Perfect?" Shepard asked, collapsing her sidearm and returning it to her hip. Her hand free again, she adjusted the grip on her rifle into something more comfortable, held across her chest again. "I thought your goal was to cure the Genophage. What purpose does one Krogan clone serve?"

"Did that woman, Rana, tell you such nonsense?" He snorted, shaking his great head as he worked on whatever he was doing. Sighing, he explained, "No, I wished to _defeat_ the Genophage. To humiliate it completely and utterly, and reduce it to nothing. To levy at it the greatest insult a foe can suffer. To be _ignored_."

"To be ignored…?"

"Oh yes, Huntress. For a Krogan, to be ignored by your foe is the singularly most insulting, degrading experience there is." The Krogan rumbled, turning to give her another of his feral, almost mad grins. "And _you_ trussed up and ignored one of the greatest Blood Pack warriors on Omega. Truly, you are an interesting creature."

"I don't think I like being called an 'interesting creature'." She murmured, self-conscious in a way she hadn't been since her first swimsuit shoot years ago. Like he was sizing her up as a product, a sensation that crawled up her spine and sent shivers in its wake. "And besides, we are wasting our time here."

"Hah. And that is where her concern lies! Not with the bloodthirsty warlord after her head. But with my phrasing and with the time of the day!" Shaking his head he turned back to work and sighed, smiling thinly in that nearly predatory, Krogan way, "But you are right. We are wasting our time and, soon enough that wench Jidore will-"

As though on cue the overhead intercom, staticy and clearly in need of repair, buzzed to life. From it, a woman's voice spoke, "I've traced the full release signal back, Okeer of course. I'm putting an end to this little experiment. Flush the tanks!"

Over their heads, the pipes thrummed and hissed, an alarm blinking over the tank the sleeping Krogan was in. Angry, Okeer turned to them and bellowed, "I name my price, Commander! Take Jidore's head while I prepare this perfect little grunt of mine for transport. If he dies or she lives to see the sunset, then I will give you _nothing_!"

"You heard the crazy Krogan." Shepard sighed tiredly, turning to head to the door on the other end of the room. "We've got one last hunt to get through before everything is dealt with."

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

**As nothing UBER interesting happens throughout this mission's, er, **_**mission**_**, I skipped it. In the interests of not bloating the Korlus mission out, I gave you the first encounter and then skipped to Okeer, to establish what was going on. What is happening on the planet isn't super important to anything, and I didn't want to rehash pre-made stuff rather than just move the story along since I had ZERO plans to change any of it.**

**As always stay safe out there keep stocked up but don't panic buy, and wash your hands, ya nasties. XD**

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

_**Falcon Lord :**_

**Yeah, she's used to dickweasels like him. Cardin, anyone?**

_**Frosty Chops :**_

**Thanks! And yeah, sad to say we never did.**

_**Howell :**_

**And Cerberus does not **_**intentionally**_ **have a moral compass. They just accidentally a good guy decision sometimes.**

_**Guest Questioner :**_

**I don't know. Maybe, maybe not. Depends. Espa and I have talked it out a few times and I have **_**ideas**_**, but… Well, that may not happen as a result of starting the story a few weeks before V7. **

**Sad, but oh well.**

_**Biotic Questioner (Guest) :**_

**By 'force multiplier' I mean the military verbage. Follow me, here. So say a Marine has a Force Quality of ten. A Marine with a rifle would be multiplied by .2, to a value ot 12. The rifle is a force multiplier. Calling something specifically A force multiplier only means that they add some 'edge' that is otherwise unattainable. Both biotics and Aura are force multipliers of differing applications. Similarly, Superman's heat vision would be a force multiplier to HIS abilities as well, supernatural or not.**

_**Tekaman Blade :**_

**Glad you're enjoying it!**

_**Tpoynt :**_

**I believe I made a note of that actually. If not, well… Geth do not **_**intentionally**_ **infiltrate.**


	19. Automata - Part IV

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

_**Official Supporters: **_

_**Priests, **_**The Impossible Muffin**_**, **_**Xager the Chaos King.**

_**Adeptus, **_**Private Wilger**

_**Ze Nope Rope, **_**Kaiser Snek, Snekiest Snek**

_**Acolytes, **_**DigiDemonLord**_**,**_ **Cheeseberry**

_**Initiates,**_ **Greg Gibson, Espacole**_****_

_**If you want to be on the Supporter list, PM one of us for details or join our private server for details. Hope you enjoy reading my stories, please leave me a comment to let me know if you did, or where I can improve. Link here, where able to be seen : **__** /2UZncAm**_

_**Second link here, remove spaces and it SHOULD work : D iscord . gg (slash) kfhkfUb**_

_**I have a kofi account now, too, under this name for those interested.**_

_**Beta(s) : **_

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

_**Special header announcement-**_

_**Espa commissioned a yt person by the name of Apotheosis for a music video trailer on this story. Should be up around now for those interested. Link to follow for those interested if FF and AO3 allow it. Just remove the spaces.**_

_** yo ut /cf hc J Y**_

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

Okeer's lab was set in what had once been an observation room for the large storage bay in front of it. Or rather, behind it, she supposed. Their approach to the ship wasn't the same now as when it had been spaceworthy, but from what ships she'd seen in her relatively short time, the cargo bay tended to be towards the back, near the engines. Regardless, on the side opposite the former airlock the door let out onto an old landing. To one side, a wall had been slapped up haphazardly, sealing the hole made when the deck and hall that way had been removed. Down the stairs they found another door, locked until they approached it and, presumably, Okeer unlocked it.

There they paused for a moment to collect themselves, check their equipment, and for the Commander to hand out her orders.

"Nikos, front and center. Focus on anything _big_." Shepard grunted at the door, rolling her shoulders and stepping back and behind them. Their usual formation, by now, with the lightly armored assassin of a woman at the rear. "I'll cloak and run along the back to secure a flank where I can't be seen. Zaeed, support Nikos by advancing to the center of the section straight out of the door. Vakarian has the door with his marksman rifle, pick off anything light you see to keep Nikos from getting bogged down."

"Aye, Ma'am." They chorused, even Pyrrha herself versed enough by now to know the proper response by heart.

"Nikos," the Commander asked after a pause, as though remembering something, "what's your, uh… Your special stamina-"

"Aura."

"Your Aura, yeah." The woman nodded, sounding distracted but seeming to file the information away again and tapping a foot anxiously. Like she was chiding herself for forgetting, and trying to force herself to remember better. "What's it at?"

"A bit under half." She answered, 'flexing' it and feeling it coalesce around her protectively. "I should be fine barring anything ludicrous, Commander."

"Good." The woman murmured from behind them as Pyrrha turned to face the door. "Stack up, we breach when Nikos is ready."

Without further discussion, Pyrrha stepped forward and hit the door release, the ancient mechanisms groaning but sliding aside to permit them regardless. A pair of mercenaries by the door flinched at their sudden arrival and she surged forward, spear dancing out in a powerful thrust that shattered the right merc's rifle as her shield snapped up and did much the same to the front of the left's helmet. The force needed to shatter ballistic glass and ceramic armor was plenty enough to send her careening into the wall to Pyrrha's left and knock her unconscious.

The disarmed man let the shards fall from his hands but quickly sought to fill them with his sidearm, blocky Predator swinging around towards her face. A slight duck to the side made the round fly high and a swift turn brought her shield across and into his arm with bone shattering speed. While he clutched his broken arm she swept his legs from under him and left him there, curled on his side in pain and fear.

Those dealt with the team surged forward and spread out, the head of a man at the end of the walkway popping before he could cry more than, "Intru-" As he fell, Zaeed surged towards his position and, behind him, Pyrrha saw a faint shimmer following.

Turning, Pyrrha focused on her own task. A very _angry_ task, sprinting up the ramp to the right of the door and swinging a bloodied, clearly dead mercenary like a club. She managed to step back and out of the way of the swinging corpse, but the Krogan turned the swing into a shoulder charge and _that_ caught her in the chest and carried her back and into the old decking. It groaned but held under the devastating blow, much like Pyrrha herself did, air forced out of her lungs as the alien shoulder struck.

But she survived, and _that_ surprised the Krogan long enough to damn it, a burst of rifle fire boring into a knee and driving it down courtesy of Garrus' rifle. Seizing the moment she let her Semblance flare all along the armor he had rammed her with and forced it over, onto its back, before burying her spear in its throat. The beast, for that was what these poor creatures were, choked, one hand grabbing her leg and yanking her to a knee, but that only managed to carve his throat even more open. Yanking her spear free she grabbed his hand and, using her Semblance, yanked his arm back by the metal it wore and freed herself.

"Thanks." She grunted at the Turian as she sprinted by and down the ramp, barely hearing his 'welcome'.

Another Krogan emerged from a pod across from her as she descended the ramp and she grit her teeth to contend with it, only for its head to snap to its left and for the creature to tumble to the side. A mercenary who'd been moving away from the pod stumbled as he hesitated, liking the stack of crates that he'd been cowering behind but unsure about moving closer to Pyrrha. A burst of rifle fire into his side and head ended those deliberations, though. For her part she could only grimace and move forward, closing with another mercenary cowering behind the crates. Her body conveniently between her and the angry Zaeed behind her, Pyrrha stepped in, shield arm wrapping around the woman as hastily sprayed rounds sparked off her Aura.

With sheer strength of body and Semblance combined, she hurled the woman high, over Zaeed's head and into the wall. The force wasn't enough to kill her but it _did_ knock her unconscious and send her weapon flying, the woman collapsing in a heap Pyrrha couldn't see beyond the raised, empty pods.

"Hey, bitch, heads up!" Pyrrha turned and looked up at the words, eyes widening at the sight of a missile pod aimed straight at her.

Jidore smiled and, without a word, sent the rocket hurtling the scant few feet towards her. Too close for her to dodge, without being bathed from behind in heat and shrapnel anyway at least, and so she sank to a knee and brought her shield up instead. The rocket punched into her shield and hurled her back, sprawling across the ground and hacking for the smoke in her lungs. Shield blackened by the heat of the explosion and arm throbbing and bruised, she staggered up and forward, waving the smoke away.

"Are you fucking serious?" Jidore shrieked, standing in the open and ignoring the burst of rounds that pockmarked her barriers while she reloaded her rocket launcher. "What the hell _are_ you that you can take on a Krogan and eat a rocket?!"

A second explosive round was quickly sent her way but this time she expected it and was already moving, stepping to the side and turning to keep her shield between the explosion and her body. The heat and smoke swallowed her for a long second but she came out unscathed and with a quarter of her Aura left, turning to glare up at the shocked woman. A handful of mercenaries, seeing this flagrant disregard for what should kill a woman, began to panic and fall back. Some scurried up the ramps for cover, others hid low as though hoping to avoid being seen while their braver fellows kept up the fight, and one even threw down his weapons and ran outright, headed for a door at the end of the derelict bay to leave by.

Capitalizing on it and ignoring the stinging of her bruised arm, she straightened and spread her arms to either side, challenging, "Is that the best you have to throw against the Huntress? A couple noise makers and some weak Krogan? Hardly a proper challenge!"

The bait worked, Jidore snarling and slamming a fresh rocket into her launcher, "I'll show you a challenge you- Agh!" A spray of red and a loud crack sent the woman sprawling out of sight. Sounding pained, she ordered over the intercom, "Drop the gods damn heavy mech!"

"Red, move!" She reacted on instinct, leaping high and to the rent, towards the center of the room.

In her wake, _something_ slammed into the ancient metal decking with the force of an artillery strike. Something big enough that the fighting around her finally fully stopped, even her own team and the more hardened mercenaires pausing. As the dust began to clear a hulking form straightened, bone white with eyes so red she almost flinched. The machine, black, white and red like a Grimm, lumbered towards her, arms turning at its sides as it acquired her and seemed to decide she was the best target.

"Nikos-!"

"It's _mine_!" She cut the woman off, heart hammering in her chest in an all to familiar kind of way.

Rushing towards the machine and flicking her hand along Milo's haft, the weapon shifting in her hand into its rifle form. Seeing her charge, the machine brought its heavy cannon to bear, mass accelerator rounds punching through the air. Grinning, she ducked and leapt, rolling towards it and then pushing off with her hands as hard as she could and vaulting the machine. Its head followed, tracking her as she sailed over it, but only to an extent before its head couldn't look further up.

Behind it, she brought her rifle to bear on a knee and let loose as it turned around, the rounds shredding into its shields with little other effect. Slipping by it she tapped her forearm against the knee, bending back to duck under a clumsily swung arm. In front of it once more she stretched her rifle arm out and punched the mech to little effect. It warbled, looking down on her, and she blanched.

Then its knee snapped up and out, and into her gut, launching her back and sending her tumbling in a heap she turned into a recovery. Raising her shield she sighed, "Less than twenty… It'll have to be enough."

With a loud whine it raised its other arm and went rigid, spitting out a rocket that sailed towards her. In answer she stepped in and turned, catching it at an angle and causing it to glance off and sail by her, blasting apart ancient decking a dozen feet away. Grunting for effort she spun on her heel and once again folded Semblance into physical power, hurling her shield as hard as she could. The improvised discus bit into the steel of its chest shallowly, kinetic barriers slowing it enough that it barely stuck in just below its head.

But it would be enough, she was sure.

Dropping her rifle she threw her hands up before herself, Aura _surging_ through her. First she targeted its knees, crushing the joints as it brought its heavy mass accelerator cannon to bear on her. The handful of shots it managed to get off went wide, punching into old metal and little else. As one knee gave out and then the other, sparks and oil flowed like blood from a cut vein and it sank. Next she took a step forward and brought her arms across her chest, spreading her arms in another rush of Aura that sheared its heavy chest armor apart to the neck.

Sparking and without its barrier or legs, the machine still tried to fight, leaning on its rocket arm and barking a pair of heavy shots towards her again. Shots which once again went wide, though this time because she'd closed the distance. Sprinting up it she tagged a hand on its chest and leapt over it, kneeling behind the machine and _wrenching_ its head up from feet away and below. With her other, she stretched a hand out, smiling viciously as she _pulled_ her shield towards her.

And, wrenching apart soft circuits and conduits, it came. Through the machine's upper chest and throat, popping out the back of its neck covered in oil. Nearly decapitated, the machine sagged forward in a heap of steel and oil.

Calling her weapons back to her with the very last _dregs_ of her Aura, and pouring sweat, she looked around the room and challenged, "Anyone _else_ want to try their hands?"

The mercenaries hesitated and once again Jidore showed her face, one arm limp and bleeding and other pointing at her. "She's _exhausted_! Kill the bitch now or I'll-"

A loud _crack_ split the air and the woman's head disappeared, her body pitched back by the force of the shot as Shepard appeared atop one of the pods. Kneeling there as sure footed as a goat would climb a mountain, she lowered her rifle and asked, "Who wants to drop their weapons and who wants to get shot?"

To no one's surprise, they dropped their arms and turned to flee, leaving behind their dead commander and ruined machine.

"Good work." The Commander grunted as she dropped from her perch and approached her, Pyrrha taking a knee and sucking in breath now that the fight was over. Echoing something dangerously close to _concern_, the woman asked, "Are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah, just..." She tried to focus and raise her Aura but it only winked, flashing and then dissolving as she stood. Or tried to, one leg nearly giving way and sending her to the floor before an arm gripped her own and a hand pressed to her stomach to hold her up. "I burnt out, Commander. Aura's spent."

"I see." She nodded and stepped closer, pressing their sides together and ducking under an arm, supporting the Mistralian as a soldier might their wounded fellow. Half-carrying Pyrrha but acting for the world like she wasn't carrying more than a rifle, she ordered, "All of you, to Okeer. Now. EDI is detecting internal alarms."

Being toted like little more than a sack of potatoes, Pyrrha let herself be dragged along while the commander called for Chakwas to prepare a medical screening.

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

Penny had been excited when she found out Pyrrha was returning from her mission, both because that meant it had been a _successful_ one and because she could ask about Korlus. She'd of course read about it when everyone else was busy and she needed something to do, but reading about a place and _seeing it_ were wholly different. Pyrrha had seen it, smelt it, _felt_ it, and she was so excited to ask about it. That excitement had died, though, when she found out that the Commander was ordering Chakwas to prepare a medical screening. That meant someone was hurt, and knowing Pyrrha, she'd have been at the fore of any fight…

When the team came up the elevator into the hall behind the cantina, her worries were substantiated. Pyrrha limped around the corner, half-carried in the soldier's way by the Commander and putting little to no weight one one of her legs. Her weapons had been handed off to Garrus, who shuffled behind her while Penny closed the distance, walking backwards and pawing the hair while she looked desperately for some way to help her dearest friend.

"I'm f-fine, Penny. Just worn out." Pyrrha forced out, smiling warmly at her display and lifting an arm so that she could slide under it and join the red-haired soldier in supporting her. Taking advantage of the closer proximity keeping her from being as easily overheard, Pyrrha explained, "My Aura faded, it didn't break."

"What's the difference?" The Commander asked, leaning in front of her to look up past her chest and hair to her eyes. Her own eyes hard behind her visor, she added, "I need to know if I'm deploying you, Nikos. That you kept such a danger from me isn't something I'm going to forgive either."

"I-I'll explain to you and the doctor together." Pyrrha decided, smiling weakly as she was shuffled towards the medical bay. Shepard's eye only narrowed but Pyrrha wouldn't relent, explaining, "She'll need to know it just as much as you will, Shepard."

"...Fine." The Commander nodded, carrying her forward.

"Your entire back is bruised rather badly, you've suffered a slight fracture in your rib as well as torn muscles in your Right leg and a _badly_ swollen ankle." Chakwas reported half an hour later after the Huntress had changed into the loose white pants and shirt kept in the medical bay. Shepard had stayed while she changed, leaning against the door with her arms crossed while Penny sat beside her friend. Chakwas, sitting in her chair and going over the scans on her terminal, only sighed, "That you only suffered these injuries after being shot _twice_ with a rocket launcher is… Frankly ludicrous."

"The, uh, leg is probably not due to that." Pyrrha offered quietly while Penny held her off hand the way her father had taught her to a long time ago. Pyrrha had smiled when she took it, so Penny supposed that had been the correct course of action. A fact that had her smiling while Pyrrha went on, "When I leapt over the machine-"

"Ymir Mech." Shepard offered helpfully, if icily. "That's it's designation."

"Right." She nodded her gratitude, going on when the Commander waved a hand to prompt her to. "When I leapt over the Ymir, I didn't use my Aura to cushion the landing. I was afraid I wouldn't have enough Aura to disable it before it faded entirely. I… Probably injured my leg in that maneuver."

"Well, it's healing, so…" Chakwas shrugged and crossed her arms, seeming exhausted by something beyond Penny's understanding. "Catch less rockets? Vault over dangerous war machines a bit more carefully? I quite frankly don't know what kind of advice to give here, Commander. This… This is all far and away outside my knowledge of Human biology or medical matters."

"I know the feeling. Doctor." Shepard nodded, giving Pyrrha a look and reaching up to take her helmet off. Sighing as cool air began to blow on her face, the woman set the helmet on a table by the door and ordered quietly, "Why don't you start filling in the very specific gap here, Nikos?"

"Right…" Pyrrha paused and pursed her lips, thinking for a long minute and then sighing. "Right, well, Aura has a physical limit, as has been explained to you previously. A cap of usage, like stamina."

"Except that it makes you bulletproof…"

"That makes it sound like Biotics, in a sense." Chakwas offered in counter, drumming a finger on the arm of her chair and staring off into space like Penny had seen her father do. Processing the information so he could remember it later more easily. Quiet, and sounding like she was asking as much as explaining, she tried, "There's more going on here, of course, and Biotic barriers recover far faster than this but… But then again, they don't enable the specific abilities you two have shown either."

"In the end the matter is quite simple. I took an injury to maintain my Aura and defeat an opponent." She explained, sounding put out in a way that Penny understood. Having to explain the very basics of Aura was… Not something they were prepared for and it was surprising how difficult explaining something so basic could be. "The difference between Aura break and Aura fade is… Equally simple, but hard to put into words."

"It's like the difference between getting tired and falling asleep on your own terms, and being struck into unconsciousness." Penny tried, leaning forward to lend her help to her friend. She was no better for training, true, but she wanted to at least _try_ and bridge the divide. "In this context, Pyrrha 'got tired' and 'fell asleep'. Simple replace the former with the effect of dropping a Biotic barrier for fatigue and the latter with having it broken down by enemy attack."

"It's quite painful as well." Pyrrha added, "When your Aura is broken, it's like an electric shock across your body. Coupled with the force of the attack which broke it. When it fads you just feel… _Drained_, and all your little aches rush to catch up to you."

"Like an adrenal response deadening pain responses and increasing physical abilities until it fades." Chakwas noted, adding with not a small amount of exasperation. "Of course, an adrenal response doesn't make you _bullet proof_ or give you super powers, but regardless, this is a good analogy. At least, it's one that lets it make some semblance of sense to me."

"I'll keep a note of the information." Shepard promised, pushing off a door and rolling her neck to ease the tension out of it. "From now on, I want you to be more careful. But good work on dealing with the Ymir, whatever the case."

"I'll be more careful, Commander." Pyrrha promised, giving Penny a look. "And Penny will, too. We are neither of us in a rush to break down or suffer worse consequences."

"I will endeavour not to exhaust myself in the field! And I will make sure to watch Friend Pyrrha when we are out, too, so she does not either." She promised brightly, smiling and earning a little chuckle from Pyrrha for it. Shepard wouldn't know, but Pyrrha knew Penny could monitor her Aura, so the promise was somewhat more serious than otherwise would be expected.

"For now, see that she gets her rest." Shepard ordered, smiling and turning to leave. Over her shoulder she added in parting, "I've got a meeting with Miranda to get to. Doc, make sure she eats and rests up for the day."

"Will do, Commander." When the woman left Chakwas turned to give her a look, both brows raised high and a smile spreading across her face. To Penny she spoke, "Would you be a dear and fetch our reckless friend something to eat, Penny? I'm afraid she'll do something _else_ silly if I take my eyes off of her."

"Of course, Doctor." She gave Pyrrha's hand a small squeeze and stood to leave, smiling and calling back. "I shall bring you something as well, Doctor!"

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

"How'd she do on the mission?" Miranda asked as soon as the door closed behind her, not even looking up from the terminal. Before Shepard could respond she added, distractedly, "Studies conducted in the field during the Saren Incident show that indoctrinated persons serving under him functioned with notably less cohesion when separated and paired with non-indoctrinated fellows. Those observed were Asari, mainly, but still."

"She fought as well as I've seen her yet." Shepard answered, tossing her helmet onto the desk and ignoring the scowl Miranda shot her for it. Easing into the chair across from her, she went on, "She was a bit too reckless at the end, but _that_ looked more 'honest mistake' than 'indoctrinated agent' to me."

"How can you be sure?"

"I can't." Shepard answered simply, watching with amusement while Miranda brushed the dirt from her helmet off of her desk. "But we have another stop, don't we?"

"The prison, yes."

"Then we can test Penny there, then. See how competently she performs without Pyrrha there." It was possible that one served as a sort of 'head' for the other, and Pyrrha was that one. The Husks obeyed the Geth after all, and she remembered them performing better under their direction as well. "If there's no change then we'll just do things the old fashioned way and confront them both after the mission."

"While Penny is fatigued from whatever happens." Shepard nodded and Miranda smiled, amused. "You realize we are meant to simply pick up Subject Zero from Purgatory, right? There ought not _be_ any fighting involved."

"Yeah, but…" Shepard shrugged, as resigned as she was amused, and went on. "It's me we're talking about. There'll be a prison riot, or a gang takeover, or _something_ there to shoot at me. Just how things go around me."

"Well, I suppose you're right about _that_ at least." Miranda sighed, staring daggers at her dirty helmet until Shepard removed it from her otherwise spotless desk. Grimacing at the smudges and dirt left behind, she sighed, "I have Cerberus poring over scans of Penny and working to acquire Geth samples. With luck, we'll have conclusive enough evidence for our confrontation, when it comes to that."

"You mean if."

"_When_." Miranda repeated, smiling, "It's you, remember? _Something_ will go wrong, so there'll be a confrontation one way or another."

"Whatever, Miranda. I'm getting a shower and some sleep, now." She chuckled, though, and stood to leave. Over her shoulder, she ordered, "Get us underway to Purgatory. Once we finish there, the Citadel. Keep observation on the girls."

"Aye, Ma'am." Miranda answered mechanically, "Enjoy your shower."

"Enjoy your shower, _Ma'am._" Shepard corrected coolly as she stepped through the door, smiling as it closed before Miranda could answer.

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

**Troll in the Reviews :**

**So like Couer, I have a troll in my reviews. Ignore them, report them, drown out their prattle with good reviews. All is welcome. Thanks for reading.**

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

_**Guest-Questioner :**_

**I am aware of Rana, yeah.**

_**The Prime Cronos :**_

**Could be neat, yeah, but not for this story. Maybe in future.**

_**Dr Killinger :**_

**You shall find out eventually~!**

_**Ecoolasice :**_

**She was, in context, choking the hiccup down. Thus, the effect.**

_**Lord Anime :**_

**Sparing Garm is one example of me already making changes to the timeline. More will come, but I don't wanna blow my number of changes early on.**

_**Black Magic 99 :**_

**Not a bad idea. I can't confirm whether it will happen or not, though.**


	20. Automata - Part V

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

_**Official Supporters: **_

_**Priests, **_**The Impossible Muffin**_**, **_**Xager the Chaos King.**

_**Adeptus, **_**Private Wilger**

_**Ze Nope Rope, **_**Kaiser Snek, Snekiest Snek**

_**Acolytes, **_**DigiDemonLord**_**,**_ **Cheeseberry**

_**Initiates,**_ **Greg Gibson, Espacole**_****_

_**If you want to be on the Supporter list, PM one of us for details or join our private server for details. Hope you enjoy reading my stories, please leave me a comment to let me know if you did, or where I can improve. Link here, where able to be seen : **__** /2UZncAm**_

_**Second link here, remove spaces and it SHOULD work : D iscord . gg (slash) kfhkfUb**_

_**I have a kofi account now, too, under this name for those interested.**_

_**Beta(s) : Darkvampirekisses**_

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

_**Troll in the Reviews- **_

_**Still suffering from review trolls. Ignore 'em though your kind words are always welcome to counter them.**_

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

"We board and pass through to collect Subject Zero." Shepard explained once her team had assembled in the _Normandy'_ airlock, linked directly to Purgatory by a long, _stressingly_ thin and lightly armored docking arm. The kind often used by older stations like these, which often left her feeling _more_ than a little put out and anxious. Whatever the case, they had work to see to. "No complications, no interaction with the guards, nothing. In and out with the package, hopefully without any trouble."

"Got it, Commander." Garrus, always trusty and ready to come with her, grunted. A click and hum followed and, voice muffled for armored metal, he murmured, "Hopefully these specific idiots don't recognize me…"

"Or me." Zaeed laughed, scratching at the old scar that made up much of his face. "Though, doubt any o' these are any o' my old boys."

"They didn't recognize you on Omega, they won't here." Shepard assured him, hefting her Mattock meaningfully. A gift from Garrus, it and the heavy barrel on its end, to let her keep her sharp-eyed edge even in close combat. "If they do, then I can try this out."

"And the darker shade of blue and helmet should hide your identity, friend Garrus. I doubt the paint was even required, but it is a fine safety net to use before going on a mission." Penny assured the older men, clapping excitedly behind her. "Oh I cannot wait! Though I wish best friend Pyrrha were able to accompany us..."

"Doc Chakwas wants to make sure that leg heals up fine." Shepard lied smoothly, "And I'm not going to wait for her. Normally, time is money. Now? Time is _lives_, for us."

"I know, Commander. I know." Penny assured her, sounding genuinely saddened in a way an artificial person shouldn't. Or an indoctrinated one...

"_Trust but verify, Jane."_ She reminded herself as the airlock slid open in front of her, stale and faintly _rank_ air wafting in from the prison. "_Especially with Reapers and the Geth involved."_

"Behind me, Polendina. I lead, you follow." She ordered quietly as, excitedly, Penny started to edge ahead of her and into the boarding arm.

"I-I know, Commander!" She nodded, eyes bright and bouncing on her heels innocently. "I just… Wanted to get a peek into the prison. I have never been inside of one before!"

"It's a prison ship, Penny. Cells, walls and lights, exactly the same as a planet-side one, except this one _floats_." Shepard noted drily, though she couldn't help but smile at the girl - real or not - when she smiled slightly and nodded, still clearly excited and smiling infectiously.

Thankfully, her helmet hid her face, and so she only had to affect the proper tone to keep the discipline in her words.

"Come on, then." She ordered, not missing how Penny perked up as she stepped by, "Let's get on with it."

At the end of the thin, dreadfully spindly walkway suspended in the docking arm they found another airlock door. It opened at their approach and they stepped through, into a small entryway with only one exit. A heavy, armored bulkhead, made as much to protect the further halls and decks from an atmospheric breach at the airlock as to keep escaping prisoners from finding an easy way onto a docked ship. Seven Blue Suns mercenaries waited there, weapons out and ready and reminding her readily of Zaeed's presence. As they formed up to meet them so did her team, stood below the landing that the mercenaries were on.

Zaeed, smart man that he was, didn't make a move once he stepped up beside him. At least, aside from very slowly, pointedly flicking his safety off.

"Commander Shepard?" She nodded and the Turian, her own face hidden by armored metal and impact resistant glass, ordered, "Helmet off. I'm to verify your identity before you head on."

"Is this really something we need to-"

"Yes, Commander, we do." The Turian grunted, the four mercenaries to either side of and behind her turning slightly in case they needed to raise their rifles. Hearing them, or the actions all as rote as her voice made it sound, she raised a hand to calm them. "Releasing Subject Zero is dangerous, Commander. More dangerous than starting a fight with you, if you're the real you. Which is all we want to know."

"Fine." She sighed, turning and handing her rifle off to Penny, her hands empty for her _unique_ armaments. Pulling her helmet off she stepped forward, "Get this over with, then. And if you try anything, my team will make you wish you hadn't."

"I'm sure." The Turian nodded, Vindicator hanging by her side while the Omni-Tool on her other arm scanned her. Up and down it scanned, just under a dozen times before the Turian nodded and stepped back. More respectfully, the Turian spoke, "You're verified now, Commander. I'm sorry for the inconvenience but with stakes like these… She could rip Purgatory apart. You know?"

"I know." She lied, thankful for the mask of her helmet as it slipped on again. In truth, she knew only the scant details Cerberus had forwarded to her. Taking her rifle back she sighed, "Well, let's go, then. I haven't got all day to waste around here. Unless you need a fingerprint or something, too?"

"No, Ma'am, no fingerprints." She shook her head, "Just your weapons."

"Yeah…" Shepard laughed and shook her head, using the movement to glance to each rifleman to either side of her. Garrus sighed, but she ignored him, turning back to the Turian guard and answering, "That's not happening, mercenary. So sorry. My friend, here, see he's got this..."

"Allergy." Zaeed grunted, "Bit allergic to handin' my rifle off to no-name mercs runnin' a slavin' barge."

"It's a prison ship, not a-"

"And I'm an Asari." Garrus cut in, rolling his shoulders to mask the slight raising of his rifle. None missed it, though, and her gaze snapped between the suddenly anxious guards as he went on. "You have any idea how many slaving rings I've seen that tracked back to this ship? And others like it, of course."

"Listen to me, all of you." She sighed, taking a breath and lifting her rifle, letting it sit back against her shoulder, muzzle towards the roof, while the mercenaries turned their attention on her. A flick of her hand ordered her fellows to relax and space out at the same time, Penny slower to copy but following suit swiftly enough. "There's four of us, and more of you in this room alone. Are you _honestly_ telling me the Blue Suns can't handle three well armed soldiers and one girl on a simple pick-up?"

"I have my orders…"

"Yes, and those orders are about to lose you a deal. And me my package." Another lie, but the Turian stiffened tellingly. Either knowing the lie and the Shepard shaped threat behind it, or believing the lie and fearing her superior's ire for it. "So, bend the rules. Or don't. But stop wasting my time and either make it interesting, or send me on my way."

"Fine." The Turian sighed, shaking her head and running her talons over her helmet's front. "Weapons on your back, though. I'll let you pass here. The warden might try and take them, though."

"Works for me." She smiled, almost hoping the man would try that with them deep enough in the ship for them to be able to fight without breaching the ship's hull integrity.

Through the door a pair of Human mercenaries waited who, silently, turned to lead them through the central halls of the old ark-ship. More heavy bulkheads spaced out along a hall that stretched to either side of them, but they didn't go that way. Instead, they went in, through the great round passageway that dominated the ship's spine. It seemed they'd been ordered to dock at the _main_ dock, as she'd expected from its placement on the spine and the tight fit.

It hadn't been _meant_ for even a ship as relatively small and narrow-keeled as the _Normandy_ was.

"Wait here, Ma'am." One of the mercenaries ordered quietly, "Warden Kuril will be here shortly and he'll see you through."

"Normandy, warm up the point defense lasers." She ordered quietly as the soldiers left, leaving her team standing in a crossroads of identical halls deep in the ship. Her helmet sealed against her voice breaking free, she continued, "Wait for my mark, though. If trouble starts, rip the docking arm off to pull away if you need to. We can use the shuttle to embark."

"_Aye, Ma'am."_

Strictly speaking, the prison's escorts had enough tonnage and firepower to outfight the _Normandy_. Light scout ship that it was, even _Purgatory_ itself should have been able to keep it at bay. Its kinetic batteries and barriers were simply too light, designed for reconnaissance and only equipped for basic, emergency defence. But in the adept hands of EDI's predictive algorithms and Joker's piloting skills, the little ship could and would punch well above its weight class.

"Commander Shepard, I presume." The typical, almost vibrating voice of a Turian pulled her attention from her own thoughts. The slightest bit larger than other Turians and more heavily armored as though to match, the warden approached them without a care in the world or guards, confident in his position in the center of the prison.

"You presume correctly." And loudly, too, his voice carrying up and down the halls to who knew how many guards. And so, after Korlus and Omega both, her secret could be _very_ well assumed to be out… "This is Garrus, Mason and Penny. Warden Kuril, no?"

"Correct." His eyes landed on their weapons and she saw them narrow, mandibles flicking slightly in displeasure. Then, curiosity, his head cocking to the side as he looked to their apparently youngest forth. Curious enough to ask, he gave Shepard a look, "All but her refused to disarm?"

"Warden, she is probably the most heavily armed of all of us." Penny flushed and Shepard actually laughed, the sound barking out before she could contain it. Both for the little joke and for the truth behind it, knowing the kind of damage her strange energy blasts could do. "Please, Warden," she prompted, before he could press for an explanation Shepard would refuse to give, "we have business to see to."

"Right." Kuril nodded, "That we do, Commander. If you would just follow me."

With a curt, cautiously optimistic nod, Shepard bade her team to follow the Turian.

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

Penny knew something was wrong when the warden left them, citing an incident elsewhere on the station he wanted to handle. That and the overly-staffed halls they were guided through, deep into the station's heart, she had suspected something untoward. From the way the Commander had been looking around, and how tightly she held her rifle, she imagined the woman was of the same suspicion. But Penny remembered, Shepard led and Penny followed, and so she stayed quiet.

Though she made sure her strings were straight and ready to pull her blades free at a moment's notice.

Still, the halls were _interesting_, to say the least. Alien mercenaries of every species bar Volus and Elcor patrolled the halls and filled the cells they meandered by. Through the windows she could see down into wide working and communal sections adjoining the spine they walked through, separated by the windows and sealed bulkheads. A nice, secure path for the guards to patrol and watch for trouble. She didn't like the 'venting troublemakers' aspect, of course, but these _were_ dangerous criminals.

If she ever returned, she would _love_ to tell Father about everything she'd seen. Even this, as unfortunately, tragically necessary as she'd been told it was.

"I'm sorry, Commander." The unsurprising words came as the door to the cell slid open, the foursome turning with tired, resigned sighs as machines filed in the door they themselves had come through. "Thawing Jack out of stasis is just too dangerous for _Purgatory_. And frankly, I'll get more out of _you_ than Cerberus was willing to pay for _her_ anyway."

"And my team?" Shepard asked, motioning her two more _regular_ fighters forward and into cover behind one of the metal half-walls that broke up the space. "What happens to them, Kuril?"

"Your ship is surrounded, but your team will live." He assured the woman, sounding genuinely hopeful that she would stand down. Penny of course knew Shepard wouldn't. How could she consider it when they knew they could tear through the droids sent to capture them? "I'm sure they have family for ransom, or credits to buy their own way out. And if not, well… The Batarians are always in need of labor and pretty young women."

"That's not happening, Kuril." Shepard answered coolly, as though _not_ having five sets of weapons trained on them from across the room. "And this is your _only_ chance to hand over Jack, get paid, and live to see tomorrow. Neither I or Cerberus are enemies you want to make, Kuril. Be smart about this."

"Threatening me? Now?" The Warden laughed, a harsh and fake sound even to Penny's untrained ears. "Lock down the decks. Neutralize the Commander and her team. Bonuses will be paid for each one brought in alive."

"Yeah, figured that would be your answer…" Shepard sighed, "Penny?"

"Yes, Ma'am?" The woman gave her a look through her helmet, shoulders sagging and head cocked to the side, and Penny blinked her realization. "Oh! You wish me to clear the room with my energy blasters, yes?"

"...Yes, Penny." The woman nodded, ignoring Zaeed's amused little snort as the machines began to lumber toward them, closing the distance for their less accurate weapons. And, probably, since they weren't firing back yet and their programming dictated so. "If you would _please_ do that, it would be appreciated."

"Of course!" She smiled, turning and flicking her hands to either side.

Her swords sprang free above her and, smiling, she stamped a foot down and her hands up to bring them to heel above her. Curling her hands into points had her swords answer, two sets of several blades spinning to life as the droids began to fire on them, knowing at least that she was a threat. Her own weapons returned fire to _far_ greater effect, melting through their torsos in short, concentrated bursts of energy. As they fell four more came through the door, their little rifles spraying inaccurate fire that did more damage to the _walls_ than to any of them.

Each of them, too, fell in heaps of molten metal inside a few seconds.

"Commander, I am pleased to report my success!" She snapped a salute, smiling, and then winced as an energy blast slammed into the ceiling. Blinking, she tried, "I believe there was an enemy on the ceiling, Ma'am! Hic!"

"Did you just…"

"I recommend we proceed to rescue Jack, Ma'am!" She answered, ignoring Zaeed pointedly. "Preferably before more enemies arrive to attempt to capture us."

"Not a bad idea, Polendina." Shepard nodded, rolling her shoulders and raising her rifle as a blue-armored mercenary poked his head in the door to see how they were. The round caught the Human's helmet and he snapped back and away with a quiet, barely audible 'oof' sound. "Polendina front, take the hits as long as you can and deal with their mechanised units. Their armor can be _annoying_ to deal with for us."

"But not for me." She nodded, knowing that this also meant she could avoid targeting any biological targets in their way. A kindness from the Commander, maybe? Or just an efficient usage of her energy blasts? Penny couldn't be sure. "I understand, Ma'am. Whenever you are ready."

Outside in the hall they found half a dozen droids arrayed in the open, with just as many mercenaries behind, using the support struts of the station for cover. The machines opened fire as soon as Penny was through, though to no avail. Rounds sparked off Aura as she knelt, arms stretched back and fingers splayed like the blades that hovered at the end of her fingers. So close she could feel the strings, coiling in the air beside her arm for the spare length in them, and the heat of her energy beams.

Using them like thrusters, she shot forward, flipping into the air so her feet could slam home in a Loki's chest, hard enough to hurl it back down the hall, smashing across the ground and into the wall. Using it as a springboard she leapt up, arms flicking forward as her feet scraped across the ceiling. Her swords answered her order, slamming into the necks and chests of another pair of mechs to either side of the spot left vacant by the first. As they fell, she yanked on her strings, pulling herself towards the ground and rolling on the metal decking, coming up on her knees.

The last three turned to her, prioritising the threat of the lost flank and the close enemy, but never got the chance to fire. Fists outstretched, she cut through each of them with short bursts of energy blaster fire that melted armor and seared the electronics under it. As they fell she stood, turning at the last second as footfalls charged her.

Surprised, the Turian was able to bowl her over and onto her back, sword strings going limp as her hands caught his by the wrists. Trying, and failing for her now useful strength, since his surprise had worn off, he tried to press his talons towards her throat. She looked to them, and then to his face, snarling behind his helmet.

"Are you trying to kill me?" She asked curiously, head cocked to the side. "I've not had many people try to, so I need to ask."

"Wha- _Yes_!" He snarled, shaking his head and sidling up so his knees rested to either side of her small chest, putting all of his considerable weight into pushing his talons into her. "What _are_ you, you little bitch? How are you so strong?"

"Oh. Okay then." Raising her hips and digging her feet into the decking she smiled, fully ready for the move she'd been hoping to use ever since watching Friend Pyrrha spar with the Commander through Joker's recorded security footage. "And since you asked, I am Penny Polendina, Sir. And what I _am_ is combat ready!"

"Wha-" Pushing off the floor she hooked her legs under the pits of his arms and over his shoulders, _wrenching_ back as hard as she could.

Her monstrous, cybernetic strength involved, he was pulled back, eyes wide in surprise. He slammed into the metal decking hard enough she heard it, and _him_, groan from the impact. Kneeling on his chest she straightened and flicked her hands, calling her swords back to action and letting a blaster formation hover over his head. He looked to it and grimaced, lashing out with a hand that she allowed to spark uselessly across her chest.

In answer, she fired one burst with precision aim, cutting away a small chunk of his helmet and slagging the decking beneath. "Please do not resist, friend. I do not wish to hurt you."

"...Fine." He sighed, letting his head loll to the side and his arms flop on the ground beside them. "I tried, at least, and I yield now. No one can say anything against me."

"Nope." She smiled, standing as the others joined her, reloading their rifles and watching the Turian groan and sit up. Blinking, she turned and asked, smiling, "New friend, please, do you know where we need to go to release the person we came to get? I would appreciate it very much if you could help us."

Asking nicely was always the best way to get what you needed. Especially if you had floating energy blaster blades spinning over your shoulders when you did.

"Down there." He sighed, unafraid of being heard by anyone with all the others dead or dying around him. Standing, he explained quietly, a wary eye on her blasters, "Perry should be in there. He can unlock the cell and let her out, though… I don't recommend it."

"Why not?" Penny asked before she thought about it, turning an apologetic smile on the Commander.

"Why not?" The woman repeated with a sigh and a chuckle, "Answer the question and then get gone, Turian. And thank your Spirits we're so charitable."

"Gladly." The Turian nodded, pulling on his harness to readjust it on him. Probably because she'd made it shift, and he found it uncomfortable. Something she felt… _Slightly_ bad for, at least. "She'll tear this station apart with or without your input on the matter. And if she sees your ship, she'll see _Cerberus_. She sees _Cerberus_, and you won't see anything but blue. She has a hatred for your bosses like the Krogan have a hatred for anything breathing."

"Let 'er rip it all down." Zaeed grumbled, hand patting his rifle affectionately. "We can use all the noise to kill that bastard Kuril."

"Fair enough." The Turian shrugged, half turning to leave and pausing, as though wary of being shot in the back. Smiling, Penny waved goodbye to the Turian and he shook his head, sighing, "Crazy damn Humans… Spirits preserve me, but you're all _insane_."

"Lead the way, Polendina."

Perry was _not_ happy to see them, to say the least, his heavy pistol barking shots at them so accurately as to be useless. Penny crossed the room in short, simply strides, ignoring the shots that sparked off her Aura and batting aside his weapon with one of her own. It clattered away and she flicked her hands up, sword to his throat while she smiled and let her team file in behind her now that it was safe.

"Hello, new friend!" She cheered, "We would very much like you to release Subject Zero for us, if you don't mind."

"And if I do mind…?" The man asked quietly, pressed back into the console that overlooked the room by her blade. A mostly empty threat, though she knew he was unaware of the fact.

Why would he doubt the sword pressing against his throat?

"If you mind terribly then I will just have to insist." She answered simply, smile dipping slightly at the way his mouth flattened and his eyes hardened. Even _she_ could see the denial, there, without needing to ask again. Instead, she stepped to the side, "Then I shall let Commander Shepard ask you for the third time. I do so hope you listen, before she gets… Rough with you."

"R-Rough?" Shepard, stood at Penny's side, very quietly checked the safety of her rifle in answer and the man paled. Suddenly even _more_ anxious he turned, working at the controls animatedly, Penny finally letting her swords drift back to hang behind her while he worked. "F-Fine! I'll let her out! B-But it's on your head, whatever happens next!"

As he saw to his task, murmuring all the while aout how terrible he idea was, alarms began to sound. Below, the little pod hanging over the room lowered and a platform extended, steam hissing as the lot worked. Finally, after a long moment, steam hissed free of the pod and the door shot open, sizing for a heartbeat before sliding up and away.

"Oh!" Penny gasped as the woman fell down, "Subject Zero is a woman! A half-naked one, too."

"Wait, really?" Zaeed grumbled, stepping up on her other side while the woman staggered drunkenly. Turning for the door that, presumably, led down and into the room, Zaeed grumbled, "Bah, flat as a plate."

"What do you mean, flat as-"

"Her chest." Shepard explained simply, tapping her own armored breast indicatively and chuckling when Penny flushed. "How innocent are you, Polendina?"

"Woah, she's moving!" Garrus' voice cut her off, the entire room _shuddering_ as something below was seemingly ripped to pieces. Shaking his head, the Turian filled in for her, "She just ripped a Ymir apart… A couple of 'em, from what it felt like. We should move, before she gets too far away."

"Right." Shepard nodded, waving Penny forward, "Front and center, Polendina. You know the drill."

"I do." She smiled though, idly, she wondered why the commander seemed so intent on having her take the front when Garrus was the more armored of them… Her Aura, she supposed, shrugging the curiosity off and moving for the door. It was no matter, really.

She had a new friend to capture. Rescue?

Both, she supposed, but a new friend nonetheless.

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

**So with this done, I hand the planning for the next chapter to you. The people. This mission, much like Korlus, will proceed almost wholly in a vanilla way with sprinkles of comedy and tweaks where I can fit 'em. So it will be treading almost entirely already known grounds.**

**On the other hand, I could simply skip to the end and move on to what would be the chapter after, where Automata will end. Or, well, where I plan for it to end. **_**Might**_ **end up a two parter, but it really, really shouldn't.**

**So, an action packed but wholly unchanged, kind of boring, chapter or skip that and get to the MAIN PLOT. This is what I ask you.**

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

_**Lil Nightshade (Guest) :**_

**Happy you're enjoying!**

_**Ehhhh (Guest) :**_

**Pyrrha spent multiple chapters getting through, as best she could, what happened. And there are plenty of changes made already, Garm being alive a good example of it. More will come, but Pyr and Penny are two people in a **_**vast**_ **galaxy.**

**Also, I added Penny **_**before**_ **V7 came out, so… Nothing I can do for it.**

_**Gun Gun Missile (Guest) :**_

**Yes, actually. As soon as I can get him in and not have Shepard want to delete him.**

_**ZR Stein :**_

**Right? Getting relations where THAT goes well is… Tricky.**


	21. Automata - Finale

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

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_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

**So most of you wanted me to skip Purgatory since nothing would change through the mission, and it would be a filler chapter. Noted and doing so. To note again, though, NOTHING is different in this version of Jack's recruitment.**

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

Touring the alien-made starship was almost as interesting as she'd hoped it would be, even with the Blue Suns soldiers interrupting her the way they kept doing, as short-lived as their interruptions always were. The way that foreign compartments had been added, presumably over the course of its however many years of service, was truly fascinating, too. Different kinds of bulkheads, a litany of various kinds of compartments and cargo crates retrofitted to house prisoners at varying security levels, and massive open areas for work that had been refitted from older purposes she couldn't _begin_ to even guess at.

Even now they were in a wide, tall room with whose _original_ purpose she couldn't guess but looked to have been turned into some kind of training field. Crates set end to end made a hallway that circled the room's edge, with railing and pylons atop it and a massive, raised section in the corner. This let down into the little training area, presumably so the guards could drill while stationed here, and held a powerful shield generator. Presumably, the shield would protect onlookers while those below trained, though Penny failed to understand why they would need that without Aura and the safety it offered which allowed the use of live ammunition.

Still, it was a _fascinating_ design to look at, if a bit archaic by Atlesian standards.

"Polendina!" The commander's shout drew her attention off of the room around aher and down, to the woman kneeling beside her behind the old, clearly well-used barricade. "Why are you standing up?! You're going to get shot!"

"My Aura is at nineteen percent, Ma'am." She smiled, turning her gaze on the warden and his two guards, currently hiding behind their own armored railings. The shield circling the room had proven impervious to their own weapons, forcing a standoff in their enemy's favor. "Their rifles inflict between point zero two percent of my Aura and point five, and thus they cannot break my Aura. If they lower their shield, they cannot withstand my blasts."

"You should just surrender, Commander Shepard." Kuril commented, apparently able to hear them over the crackle of the energy barrier. The room was, after all, silent besides it now that they'd stopped trying to break through the shields. "I've learned how true your reputation is now, Commander. Stand down and I will let you leave. I'll even give you Jack, no charge."

"Go to hell ya goddamn traitor!" Zaeed snapped from his barricade across the way, spraying fire across the section of shield that covered where they'd last seen Kuril. Shepard ordered him back down and he obeyed, snapping back a mad, "Fool me once you son-of-a-whore! Fool me _once_!"

"Calm down, Zaeed." The man snarled, waving her off, but settled in on a knee while Shepard spoke. To the Turian and Human both she spoke, using her comms and sounding tinny even in Penny's ear for it, though the woman was beside her. Close enough Penny could hear her voice twice, the second time on a short delay. "Both of you prep an Overload charge and aim for the right pylon. High yield, I don't care if it drains your Omni, these sorts of shields always crack under that kind of heat. Penny, when they go off, concentrate as much of a pulse as you're capable of on it, too. _You_ should be able to pierce and bring it down even if the _ship_ is powering it."

"My most powerful blast will reduce my Aura to three percent, Commander." She informed her, smile shrinking somewhat with the news. "This will leave me vulnerable for the duration of the mission."

"We'll cover you." The woman assured her, "Just do as you are ordered, Polendina."

"Very well, Ma'am." She smiled, rolling her own shoulders and flicking her arms out to either side. Three little blasters spun to life over her shoulders and head and she smiled, "I am ready, Commander."

"Get down as soon as you are empty, Polendina. Open up on three, Zaeed, Garrus." She ordered, turning and rising, bracing her rifle as much on her shoulder as the cover. Taking a breath, the woman drummed the side of her weapon twice and grunted, "Three!"

Two large electrical explosions ripped across the shielded pylon-generator the Commander had indicated. The shield crackled and flashed around the room and, as Penny closed her fist, she could see tiny gaps sparking all along the shield's surface. Understanding the system's weakness, now, she smiled.

Rather than pour on fire she rotated short pulses that slammed into a small surface area of the shield, playing on her knowledge of hard light dust barriers and the similarities between them and kinetics. The rapid, short-lived bursts meant that the system could neither adjust to maintaining a power balance on defence, or to resting. At the same time she flicked her hand up and to the side, the two remaining blades spinning up in a weak, but usable, blaster that she fired randomly around the room, sparking along the barrier.

The lights flickered and, seeing the power surge they were causing, the computer's automated system shut the barrier down to save the ship. Without the barrier, her remaining burst bored into the pylon itself, destroying it while the Commander poured fire onto the other one. Both sparking and useless, Penny slid to her knees behind the barrier, sucking in breath while the two men moved forward to flank the surprised Blue Suns. Shepard stayed with her as she had the entire mission, kneeling beside her and kindly watching over her.

"You good?" The woman asked, watching her try to catch her breath. "Never seen you so tired."

"I am at two percent Aura, Ma'am." She smiled, listening to the sounds of the men fighting where she couldn't see. "I will be well. Food, water, a shower perhaps, and some rest will all see me right as, well, my right hand."

"Well, at least we're done here, so you'll be fine." Shepard laughed as the fighting died down and Garrus called the all-clear, the entire _ship_ shuddering with the ferocity of Jack's flight and fight through the station. Offering her a hand, the Commander watched her swords slide back into her pack and pulled her upright, "Let's go get our new recruit, Polendina."

"A new friend, maybe?" She asked tiredly, the Commander chuckling under her breath and nodding. "Good," she smiled, "new friends are always grand. Even when you are tired, they make the day all the brighter."

"Yeah, well…" Shepard shrugged, turning away from her and headed up the ramp towards the door behind where the warden had faced justice. Over her shoulder, she ordered, "Let's just get out of here before anyone _else_ starts shooting at us, Polendina."

Smiling and forcing herself to straighten, she followed behind her.

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

"You're fuckin' crazy if you think I'm gettin' on a Cerberus shuttle, Bitch." Subject Zero, or 'Jack' as she had repeatedly been referred to as, was _not_ happy. No, in fact she was rather livide, and had smeared two trapped mercenaries across the back of the docking zone for it. Crackling blue, she rolled her shoulders and cracked her neck, "Different uniforms, though, so you get thirty seconds."

"To…?"

"To explain why I shouldn't paint the walls with you, too." The woman laughed, waving a hand at the rather macabre but _very_ fresh coat that she'd done the wall up in. "'Cus from where I'm sitting, you're between me and a way out."

"And that way out is what, exactly, Jack?" Shepard asked, laughing to herself while her men flanked out to either side of her and Penny, vulnerable as she was, hid behind her armored form. "What, are you going to take a Kodiak shuttle all the way to… Wherever you intend on actually going? Is _that_ your plan?"

"Done it before." She shrugged, "Why would now be any different?"

"A _lot_ of reasons, actually." Almost to back up her answer, the _Normandy_ shot by, peppering a distant Suns corvette no doubt intending on destroying her shuttle when it left. The mass accelerator rounds carved through its barriers and armor, cracking _both_, and it limped away trailing smoke and fire. "Case in point. Or did you miss the battle going on around the station at the moment? Blue Suns' ships shooting at mine, the _Normandy_ shooting them down, and prisoners in stolen ships shooting at both."

"Just means no one will notice me." The mad Biotic smiled, "Which works just fine for me. Still waitin' on reasons not to smear the wall with you."

"Hold that thought." If the other woman wanted to play… Shepard smiled, raising her arm and flicking her Omni-Tool on, using it to contact the _Normandy_ directly. "Joker, if the shuttle leaves without me on it, assign it priority and eliminate it at all costs."

"_Uh, alright, I guess, Commander?"_ The man's confused and distracted voice answered, crackling in the still air around them. "_I mean, I figured that was already the plan what with the, you know, prison of psychopaths stealing anything that can _float _right now. Thanks for that, by the way."_

"You're welcome."

"_Yeah, yeah, real funny- Wait, do you have me on _speaker _right now?"_ She didn't answer and heard the man sigh and then swear, "_God damn it I hate when you put me on speaker. You know my voice sounds awful on speaker, Commander!"_

"I think you sound just wonderful, friend Joker!" Penny smiled, stepping around her and leaning over to talk into the Omni-Tool. "Do not be shy about your voice! I promise that it does not sound as-"

"Penny…" Shepard sighed, shaking her head and shutting down the communication line now that her threat was made. Turning back, she found Jack to be practically _luminescent_ now and stuck an elbow out, using it to urge Penny back around and behind her. "So there's at least the _one_ reason not to 'smear the wall with me'. I've got three," she spared Penny behind her a look, "well, three and a _quarter_ more reasons not to try it, too. So why not try _talking_ before _smearing_?"

"Why?"

"I dunno, just an idea she had, I guess." Garrus grunted from beside her, looking over his rifle absently in a quiet but very clear kind of threat. Not even looking up, he added coyly, "Maybe you should try it, see how it goes. Who knows? Never know, it might be fun."

"Better 'n gettin' spaced at least." Shepard stiffened at _that_ reminder but Zaeed either didn't notice or didn't care, waving a hand at the battle outside. "You're not gettin' past that noise intact without help or gettin' sent on a _very_ goddamn cold walk. We got the help, and you have what we need."

"The fuck do I have that you need, old man?" The woman asked, sounding more hostile but letting her Biotics fade regardless. Curling her hands into flists she gave the Cerberus insignia emblazoned on the shuttle a look and snarled, snapping back around back to them, "I'm not goin' back without a damn good offer. So you better have somethin' good."

"How about unfettered access to Cerberus' data files through our systems?" The woman had a hate for Cerberus a planet wide and a black hole deep, and for all the woman's threatening, almost feral posturing, Shepard's words made her pause. Made her _consider_, in exactly the way Shepard had expected she would do, based on Cerberus' dossier. "I'm on a special mission _with_ Cerberus, not for them. I don't owe them a damn thing, and I know you hate them. So money, safe passage, my personal assurances of safety, and every dirty secret you can dig up on the bastards."

"I want your clearance."

"Do you one better." Shepard countered, smiling. Now the fish, or maybe _shark_ was better in this instance, was on the hook, she just needed to _reel it in_. "I'll give you clearance from someone who works directly with the _owner_ of Cerberus itself."

"You've got someone that works with him…?"

"Better than that, I have _met_ the man." She smiled, slowly reeling the woman in, "He's called the Illusive Man, apparently. Black hair, cybernetic eyes, wears a black suit and drinks something probably alcoholic with two cubes of ice in it. I bet you didn't even know what he looked like, did you?"

"No one does, really…"

"Then I'm already proving my worth." Shepard nodded, "So, do we have a deal, then, Jack?"

"You give me the files as soon as we board." Shepard nodded and, finally, the woman let her Biotics fade away. Cursing, she crossed her arms and grimaced, "What are we waiting for, then? Let's get the fuck out of here before the station falls apart. Maybe we can pop a few rounds into it before we leave? Fuckers deserve it."

"Seconded."

"Thirded."

"But would that not destroy the- Oh, I understand that is the point." Penny nodded, drawing sighs from the other two and making even Shepard groan. Smiling, the woman laughed and bounced by, towards the Biotic woman. Smiling, she offered a hand, "I am Penny Polendina, new friend Jack! It is a pleasure to meet you!"

"...The fuck?"

Whatever the cause, Jack didn't rip anyone apart while Penny yammered away at her, just sitting wide-eyed and confused at her energy while she went on and on about the _Normandy_. And space. And Turians. Then space again, because Penny seemed to _really_ like space and finally sweets and how she couldn't wait to have pancakes with Jack. The woman seemed unable to really process what was happening but Penny didn't care or, more likely, didn't notice, simply talking enough to fill in for the both of them while they boarded the shuttle and waiting for Joker's word to try and dock back with the ship.

_That_ took fifteen minutes, unfortunately, but they were on their way eventually so it didn't really matter.

"Miranda, when we arrive you're to give your access to the _Normandy's_ stored Cerberus files to Subject Zero." Shepard warned as they made their way over, using a private channel the two had long since had set up for their personal use. "Not up for debate either, so don't try. I want you monitoring and shadow curating what she's looking through. See if you can't give her something she can use that won't hurt our operations."

"_...Aye, Commander."_ The woman ground out, displeasure clear even across the line. "_I'll set everything up as ordered, Ma'am."_

"Thank you, Miranda." And surprisingly, she meant that, too. She'd expected a lot more fight from the woman but then she supposed Miranda was pragmatic enough to know when not to press against the grain. Moving on to the next duty of the day she reported, quietly eyeing the suspect as she did, "Polendina's Aura is down. Now is the time, if we're ever looking for one."

"_Nikos is still confined to the Med-Bay, Ma'am, as you ordered."_ Miranda reported after a short, brief moment, "_Shall I meet you there?"_

"Yes." She answered, thinking swiftly and adding, "Keep security away from the Med-Bay, though. The last thing we want is Nikos getting antsy if we're right and using whatever her ability _really_ is, Semblance or Reaper tech either way, inside our ship."

"_And us being there is meant to help how…?"_

"If they make a move, you slam Nikos down with every ounce of Biotic power you have in that tight little body of yours. I don't give a damn if you pass out after, you _crush_ her. I can handle Polendina myself." She could handle Polendina, as low as her Aura was after their mission and their last assault on Kuril. A happy coincidence she'd seen and taken eagerly. "I can deal with her. Can you handle Nikos?"

"_I should be able to, yes."_ Miranda answered, "_Though I doubt the Med-Bay will enjoy it…"_

"We can deal with that later, Miranda." 'If the worst comes to pass' she left unsaid, genuinely hoping they were wrong about everything. And that, confronted and trapped as they planned them to be, they would be able to explain everything. Nikos was devastating enough to be irreplaceable and Polendina was the same, but also… Penny, and irreplaceable in a wholly different way. Still, though... "For now, standby and be ready at the Med-Bay as ordered. I'll get Polendina there along with Vakarian."

"_Vakarian…?"_

"He backed up that they knew a Geth." She answered simply, "He might be able to offer more answers. And if a fight starts, he'll have our back."

"_You trust him that much?"_

"I do." And, she hoped, after today she'd be able to trust two more people.

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

"I have told you already that I feel _fine_, Miss Lawson. Surely my ankle is more than healed enough by now for simple excercises." Pyrrha sighed, shaking her head and laying back in the now _incredibly_ uncomfortable medical bed. Days and days she'd been confined to it, the doctor and commander worried about her ankle, and it had made her stiff. "I just want to do some stretches and weight training in the cargo bay, blast it all."

And irritable.

Stiff and _irritable_.

"The doctor's orders were clear, Nikos Bed rest until she or the Commander clear you to be mobile." The woman answered simply, leaning against the wall by the door with her arms folded under her chest. The left, on top of the right, glowed orange while text scrawled by, the woman working even now. "You've not been cleared and as such are under observation standards and confined to the bed."

"For an ankle injury…?"

"Ours is not to question why, Nikos." The woman smiled and gave her a look, eyes hard and smile frankly too stiff to be of comfort. Her voice came off as much the same, too, though Pyrrha held her tongue on _that _as she went on, "Just relax. Frankly, I'm jealous you _don't_ have to be up and at a station, slaving away."

"I'd be happy to help with whatever-"

"We can discuss it later." The woman cut her off, looking back to whatever she was busying herself with and shrugging dismissively. Distracted with whatever she was doing, the other woman continued, "If it makes you feel any better, the Commander intends to put your friend in for some studies and rest, too."

"I see..." They'd run bloodwork and scans all over her while they monitored her recovery, light and simplistic as it had been. While Pyrrha could get through them without worry, the same couldn't be said of Penny, and she felt worry knot in her gut for it. "What kinds of tests will be run on her, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Curiosity, mainly." She lied, "And Penny can be… Anxious, with doctors. A quirk of hers but if I know what to expect-"

"She'll be put through whatever the Commander requires, Nikos. No more, no less." Miranda interrupted quietly, eyes narrowing and shoulders straightening almost imperceptibly. Then her lips quirked and she shrugged, the odd tenseness gone as swiftly and as mysteriously as it had come on. "Don't worry about it too much, Nikos. I've a feeling that when she gets here the Commander will dismiss you."

Why didn't that make Pyrrha feel _better_, though?

Regardless, that seemed to be the end of things unless Pyrrha felt like flaunting her orders, which didn't _appeal_ to say the least. So instead she laid back in the uncomfortable bed, closed her eyes, and waited as patiently as she was able to. She wouldn't be made to wait for long, at least, looking up as the door hissed open and Shepard entered, Garrus and Penny in two just behind and to either side of her.

"Have a seat, Penny." The Commander grunted, gesturing at Chakwas' chair beside Pyrrha instead of the more appropriate bed on Pyrrha's other side. Looking at her, the armored and _armed_ Commander nodded and asked, quietly, "How are you feeling, Nikos? Well-rested, I hope, after all this time."

"I… Am well, yes." She answered, watching Miranda reach to a little switch by the door and flick it, polarizing the separating window without a word. Idly, and anxiously, she noted that Miranda, too, was armed. Quietly, she asked, "How, um, how did your mission go, then? I trust all went well?"

"It went fine enough. Jack is settling in under the engineering deck right now while we route to the Citadel for a few things Mordin needs to finalize his work." Shepard nodded, turning to Garrus and nodding silently towards the far door. Beyond which, Pyrrha wasn't sure what was there. He cocked his head but she only turned away and so, shrugging, he went to lean against the door. "We're actually here to talk about you two, though. Not the mission."

"What about…?"

"A lot of things." Shepard answered quietly, "Starting with what Penny is."

"What I am…?" Penny murmured, eyes flicking to Pyrrha's for a second before looking back to the Commander's impassive, armored mask. "I-I don't think I understand, Ma'am. "

"Neither do I…"

"Or me, if we're pointing out who's out of the loop around here." Garrus added quietly from the door, Shepard's head snapping to meet his gaze. The alien only shrugged, though, adding quietly. "Yeah, sure, got it. Being quiet now."

"We've explained Auras, Semblances and everything else to you, Commander." Pyrrha murmured, sitting up but not attempting to leave the bed. Even the simple movement of _sitting up_, though, had the two women's hands hovering over their sidearms on their hips. Her eyes narrowed on them but she stilled, looking to the two women slowly, "I've not been confined to the Med-Bay for observation, have I?"

"That was part of it. We didn't lie about the data collection." Miranda answered after a look and nod from the Commander, "Collecting data on you has many uses, though. For instance, Nikos, your Aura takes twenty one hours and fifteen minutes to fully recharge from zero. And anatomically, you are nearly identical to standard Human, though with denser bones, muscles and more tendons at the joints. All by small factors, but factors which _exist_."

"Those don't matter, though, compared to what _started_ our investigation." Shepard cut in, giving Garrus a look and explaining presumably for his sake as much as theirs, "Passive scans of Penny, taken at the airlock as part of Cerberus' anti infiltration protocols, showed extensive cybernetics throughout her body."

"Cybernetics…" The Turian murmured, turning to the two of them and stiffening as he realized what they must have been getting at. "You two are friends with a Geth, and she's been cybernetically enhanced."

"Is that bad…?" Penny murmured, giving Pyrrha a fearful look.

"We have reason to believe that you both are indoctrinated agents, in league with the Reapers via the Geth." Shepard said by way of answer, noting when Pyrrha stiffened. She, at least, knew who the Reapers were and what they represented. And even Penny, for as little as Pyrrha had gone into them, knew enough to be afraid of the allegation. "We examined Nikos to determine if she was similarly enhanced or not, and kept you separated to examine your behavior to see if you acted like indoctrinated subjects do. You don't, though."

"Which is the only reason we're _talking_ instead of _shooting_ you, by the by." Miranda added threateningly. Even Garrus, who she trusted more than most to do what was right, had a hand on his hip, resting on his sidearm. "So, explain, and this time don't lie."

"W-We didn't." Pyrrha argued quickly, giving Penny a look and licking her lips while her mind raced. "P-Penny isn't a Reaper- I mean, it is true we are friends with Geth, a-and that she has cybernetic components, but we aren't… The Geth aren't… I don't-"

"I am not a normal Human girl, as much as I look like one." Penny murmured when Pyrrha couldn't think but to stammer, looking between each of the three of them with panicked eyes. She never _had_ been good at confrontations, after all. "I am an artificial being, designed and built by my father to look and _be_ Human in everything but flesh and blood. All else we told you we told you true. Even my energy blasters rely on the same energy my Aura draws from, though it is not _technically_ a Semblance."

"And we're supposed to trust your word on that?"

"When I lie, I hiccup." She answered, "Try it."

"You'd just make yourself hiccup to sell the idea." Shepard grunted, dismissing it entirely and sighing. Looking between the two she explained, simply, "You have two options. Prove that you aren't using Reaper technology to do these things you do, or you will be disarmed, incarcerated, and remanded to Cerberus custody."

"Where you will be interrogated and dealt with as possible Reaper collaborators." The woman murmured coolly, the threat behind her words _more_ than obvious even to Pyrrha. She'd been on the ExtraNet, she knew what kind of group Cerberus was and what they were known to do.

"I-I see…" Their lives were on the line, then, and Pyrrha sighed for it and her lack of options. "If I can convince you that Aura is natural, and not technological...?"

"Then I would have an explanation for _some_ of what we have unearthed regarding you." Shepard answered, "But there is more we don't understand. This 'war in heaven' you spoke about in your quarters, for example."

"You were spying on us…?"

"Cerberus monitors every deck of the ship." Miranda answered, "That you didn't sweep for and disable such devices allowed us to hear what was said. And it doesn't help you to protest it, either."

"_That_ I… Would keep private, Commander." Pyrrha murmured, Penny nodding with the words for obvious reasons. The nature of the Gods and their deaths and resurrections would not easily be believed, and could not easily be proven. "It is nothing untowards, however, and besides that, if I prove that an Aura is natural then I will have addressed the first of your concerns."

"You will also have to explain your relation to the Geth, and agree to be submitted to monitoring." She nodded and Shepard sighed, "Fine, then. Start with the Geth you know and your relation to it."

"It is a friend, and it's name is Legion." She answered simply, looking at Garrus and adding with a small nod, "He can back me up on that. And that Legion means no one any harm. He simply wants to learn about you, Commander, and, er, 'organic societies'. So that the Collective can understand, predict and work with us when the Reapers come."

"The Geth worked with the Reapers." Shepard pointed out, "Why would they _oppose_ them now?"

"Some Geth worked with the Reapers, but not all are on their side." Garrus, of all people, explained. "He, _it_ I mean, wanted information to find you so that it could make contact and while we talked, it explained that to me. Perhaps help, if you were alive. It left Omega on a favor to Aria, actually. A trade, for information on where to start looking for you when it got back."

"Diplomacy isn't normal for the Geth, but a division would explain why Cerberus' analysis showed that the Geth that worked with Saren were so much weaker and less numerous than estimates assert the Geth should be _minimally_." Miranda added, pursing her lips as she ran through the idea and turned to the Commander. "It… Makes sense, Commander. And answers some long-standing questions."

"That it does." Shepard nodded, looking between her and the Turian. "Do you think that it is really looking to make friends with us?"

"I… Don't really know." He shrugged, "But that's already a step up from knowing they're on our enemies, either. It wasn't hostile _on_ Omega, though, and that's kind of important. If it's looking for you we'll find him soon enough anyway, though, and we can just… See how that goes."

"If she can prove Aura is natural then…" Miranda shrugged, "If Aura can be _proven_ to be natural, and we know Nikos has no cybernetics in her, then the Geth situation is all my suspicions have to stand on. And that is your call."

"...If you can prove your assertions about Aura, then we'll set this aside for now." Shepard said after a long, quiet moment to consider it all. "You aren't in the clear, and you _will_ be monitored and barred from leaving the _Normandy_ until we know for sure one way or another what is happening here. Now, prove that Aura isn't technological in any way."

"Very well, then." The deal was decent enough, she supposed. She didn't want to leave the _Normandy_ anyway, not while there was still good to be done. Still, though… Pyrrha sighed and grimaced, turning to Garrus on the other end of the room. "I will need Garrus' help, though, if he is willing."

"Willing to…?" Garrus murmured, taking a half-step towards her bed and hesitating.

"I'm going to awaken his Aura." She explained to the room at large, Penny's eyes softening sadly with the answer. "Penny is almost certainly too exhausted to, and I have no choice in the matter. But of everyone aboard, I trust and respect Garrus alone enough to… To do _this_ with someone because it is demanded of me."

"Uh…"

"Do it, then." Shepard ordered, sighing and adding quietly, after a breath, "And… And if it works, I'll apologize for making you do it. But I saw your reaction, you _know_ why we are doing this."

"Hm." Pyrrha didn't answer, frankly angrier than she had been in a while, but the woman had a point. Turning in her bed she stood, legs aching and stiff from being in bed so often and for so long. Now, she knew that they had been wary of her fighting back here…

"I need to touch you." She explained to the Turian, standing in the loose white clothes she'd been given to wear. Nodding, the alien moved to her and stopped, standing awkwardly and looking at the wall embarrassedly. "You'll feel a… Rush, of sorts, and then your Aura will be active. You will need to be _trained to use it_, but the rush is unmistakable. And the glow."

"Glow…?"

"You'll see." She murmured, laying a hand on his armored breast and sighing. Taking a breath and flaring her Arua, she closed her eyes and leaned her head against his armored chest, speaking loudly and clearly, "For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee."

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

A heartbeat passed after she finished before anything happened, but when it did, Jane could _not_ mistake it. No one could. A glow, bright and luminescent, overtook the woman and seemed to flow _into_ the Turian. There it swirled, around his chest where she touched him, before a new glow bloomed into existence. This one was grey, and bloomed out from her hands until it had wreathed the suddenly _very_ stiff Turian in its presence. Then, as swiftly as it had come, it faded and the woman sagged against Garrus.

"W-Whoa!" The Turian grunted, hands wrapping around her bicep as he steadied her and then staggered himself, shaking his head as the Huntress collected herself. Sitting on the other bed he reached up to yank his helmet off, blinking and shaking his head. "That's… A weird feeling."

"Garrus…?"

"Head rush, Commander." He grumbled, giving her a look and a nod before turning his gaze on his hands, fingers curling and uncurling slowly. "She was right, though. I can… I can feel it."

"He doesn't have a lot, but…" Pyrrha sighed, head in her hands, "Gods, it always exhausts me for a moment, doing that. I'd thought it due to how much Jaune had, but… Perhaps I am just unsuited for this."

"Jaune…?"

"Her old partner, from back… Back home, before we _left_." Penny answered, moving to the bed to rub little circles in Pyrrha's back. Turning to Shepard the girl, or machine or whatever she was, actually looked _angry_. Lips draw down, eyes hard and hands curled into a fist on the bed beside her, she asked, "May we be alone now, or do you have more to press us for? Will you demand she hand each of you her _soul_ as well, as you did with Friend Garrus?"

"No." Shepard answered, shaking her head, "I won't."

"Then if all is settled, leave us be, Shepard." Not 'commander' or 'friend', Shepard noted with a little frown. Just her name, with none of the friendliness she always offered. "All _is_ settled, yes?"

"For now…" Penny nodded and turned, scooting closer so that she could hug her friend. Pyrrha only smiled, shaking off what she'd been forced to do but _clearly_ feeling worse than drained over being pushed into it. Turning, Shepard gave Miranda a look and nodded towards the door, "Vakarian, come on, we need to debrief anyway. Let's give them some space."

"Yes, Ma'am…" He nodded, standing and murmuring, "See you later, Penny. Pyrrha."

"I will teach you to use your Aura tomorrow, Friend Garrus." Penny answered as Shepard stepped through the door.

Sometimes, she hated this job, but there was no one else as willing and capable as her to face the Reapers. So she had no choice, even if she felt bad for it. As Garrus stepped through the door and it hissed closed for the last time that mattered to them, she mused, '_At least we seem to have been wrong, though.'_

Silver linings in every cloud, after all.

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

**So dear god I had a LOT to juggle between why they were suspected,how to address those suspicions without COMPLETELY outing everything, it was difficult to keep track and run it all AND keep the characters consistent and convey the emotions and tensions. Hope you enjoyed it, there are humps I see even now that I dislike but can't change much, have a good one.**

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

_**Black Magic 99 :**_

**Penny prefers not to kill if she can avoid it and, in this instance, SHE could avoid killing anyone. She's strong enough to safely disarm her enemies if she chooses to, and she has a character that would WANT TO, so she does.**

_**Blaiseingfire :**_

**Nothing changes. To my memory, Jack is why much of the ship devolves as it does, even after you release the cell block proper. Ripping up the decking and hallways would **_**probably**_ **see many prisoners released.**

_**Aurora Halsey :**_

**Kind of, but there is no intriguing way to WRITE THAT. We know how Penny behaves, thinks and operates, and Pyr and Co would only be observing that. I would simply be retreading the chapter with that as a sort of… Background thing we know is happening.**

_**Frosty Chops :**_

**Penny is great, yeah. Her optimism and Pyrrha's kindness, I find, are an interesting contrast to the Mass Effect world.**

_**The Last Battalion :**_

**Indeed!**

_**Steelrain :**_

**I have a couple I am considering, but don't know how I would even **_**begin**_ **to utilize them. Or get them there.**

_**Dr Killinger :**_

**He's one of several people I am considering using at some future point. There's several options, Roman among them, but as said earlier I don't know how I would get them in or how I'd use them.**

_**Glrasshopper :**_

**I view Penny a bit differently to others, a lot of the times. She's optimistic and kind but, to me, not **_**that**_ **innocent per se. A beacon of optimism and sweetness but, I mean, she's a **_**military android**_**. I would imagine she understands that in combat sometimes you kill, even if she doesn't **_**enjoy**_ **it.**

_**Jahoan :**_

**Indeed, kinda how I am approaching all of this, yeah. I made the choice to add her prior to Volume 7 so I'm stuck now anyway. *shrugs***


	22. Burnt Bridges - Part I

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

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_**If you want to be on the Supporter list, PM one of us for details or join our private server for details. Hope you enjoy reading my stories, please leave me a comment to let me know if you did, or where I can improve. Link here, where able to be seen : **__** /2UZncAm**_

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_**Beta(s) : Santo**_

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

**I **_**knew**_ **I sold that scene well. I'm writing this the same day I posted and **_**watching**_ **everyone react exactly as I hoped. However, I will respond pointedly to it all even though this chapter will do so.**

**Shepard did a **_**very**_ **bad thing in the last chapter. I knew the parallels pointed out when I wrote it, too. That Pyrrha would view it as a horrifying level of violation is purposeful, as is Miranda and Shepard's **_**complete**_ **apathy in the moment. I did add a note of regret on Shepard's part, at least, but that leads to the thing that I have alluded to and acted on numerous times in this story.**

**Commander Shepard is, in this story, a pure Renegade. Not a Paragade, not a Neutral, a **_**hard Renegade**_**. Everyone angry with her is **_**completely**_ **justified. Playing Renegade means being the bad guy sometimes, and that often ruins your chances for good outcomes, but people still play that way.**

**This is just that.**

**And no, Penny will **_**not**_ **let sleeping Grimm lie. I decided to do two chapters before moving through my update schedule for a reason. The second starts the short Arc before the Horizon arc, so enjoy.**

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

Life aboard an alien warship was a challenging experience even for experienced Salarians. Their metabolisms meant that they needed more frequent meals, five with small portions compared to a Turian, Asari or, most relevantly here, _Human_ sets of three. They slept less too, four or five hours compared to an average of closer to eight. Every single thing about being a Salarian rubbed against the norm on a ship run by any race _except_ Salarians. Adaptation and training prepared all Salarians for this eventuality, though, and Mordin had been no exception to that.

In fact, training under the Special Tasks Group had prepared him even further for these realities.

Waking up and cleaning his cot, he left the laboratory he used as his quarters after the briefest amount of time checking his data-processing and experiments. The halls were empty as always, and the two skeleton crewmen monitoring the CIC paid him little more than nods as he made his way to the elevator and down into the ship's bowels. Another guard waited beside the elevator door and, before he even saw him, he had paid the man a little nod of greeting that the man equally automatically returned.

Cerberus might have been a predominantly race oriented faction but exhaustion and drilled professionalism drowned those urges out, amusingly enough.

Preparing and consuming his food, and then cleaning up his meal went well as well, the aged Salarian working on the morning tasks with one hand while he ran needed preparatory calculations with the other. Fourteen minutes to wake up, proceed down the decks, eat and prepare for the day, and clean up after while his systems processed. Routine, calming, simple, _productive_. Comfortable as well, in the way that such things were, and as he stepped through the door into his lab it was with a smile. A smile and the expectation that his routine would continue for more than an hour of undisturbed work.

A smile that slopped on entering and finding Penny, up early and sitting in a chair, waiting for him. She turned to him as he entered and nodded, the girl murmuring, "Good morning, Doctor Solus."

"Good morning." He nodded, blinking away his surprise before moving past her to his main terminal to begin his day, standing across from where she was sitting.

"Good morning, Doctor." She nodded, turning to him and watching him work quietly. As usual she added, "Are you… Busy?"

"Yes." He nodded, fingers rapidly working even as he looked up to speak with her. Only as he turned to her, he noted, did she smile. A small, fragile, artificial thing that drew both his interest and concern. "Very early in the morning. Did not expect you. Many preparations to make before we reach the Citadel. Supplies needed to inoculate us all against the Collector swarms. Very important."

"I understand, Doctor." She nodded, her polite smile slipping away as he turned to face the terminal again.

He kept one eye on her, though, concerned and analytical even as he worked on his supply list. She neither smiled nor moved about the room as normal, looking at whatever he wasn't working at. She also didn't leave to get food, which he knew she hadn't had yet after having prepared his own below-decks. He'd have noticed a wet sink or drying dishes from her eating before him, but the sink had been dry and the drainer empty.

So she hadn't eaten. Did that explain how she was acting?

No. He'd seen her working on Omega without eating and she had still been bright and happy. Smiling, bouncing around the room, and talking animatedly. A lack of breakfast quite simply didn't explain her symptoms.

Illness, then?

No. Her hair's volume and her skin color were the same, ruling out fever, and she didn't sit in a way that spoke of stomach pains or anything else which could have told of illness. A flick of his fingers across his keys accessed the Med-Bay's records and found no records or mention of admission or supplies being requisitioned. Which ruled out disease _and_ injury in one motion.

Finalizing his supply requisition he turned to her and asked, quietly, "What is bothering you? You are behaving oddly and I am concerned."

"I-I am?"

"You are." He nodded, for once entirely setting aside work while he turned his full attention on the young woman. "You are more quiet than normal. Also, you are not smiling. I do not believe that you have ever looked so… Downcast."

"Oh… I see. That does sound unlike me." She swallowed, looking at the floor and chewing her lip for a long time. She looked to him after a moment, lips parting to speak, but then she grimaced and looked back to the floor unsurely. Finally, and quietly, she murmured, "I… Have something that I wish to tell you, Doctor Solus. Something that may make you dislike me once you know it."

"Doubt that." He smiled, turning his attention to an alert on his terminal long enough to quickly punch the new data back into his running data-analysis stream. She gave him a look even _he_ could read as searching and he explained congenially, "Enjoy your company. Enjoy _you_. Bright young woman. Both intellectually and emotionally."

"Ah. I… See." _This_ smile was more genuine and warm, and somewhat eased Mordin's concern for her until it vanished again. "Thank you, Doctor Solus. Your words are very kind."

"You are welcome." He nodded, fingers snapping out once again to accept notifications, make notes of results and input them into his final analysis of the Collector data. While he worked, slower for his focus being on _Penny_ rather than the data analytics but still with enough focus not to have to worry about making any mistakes, he prompted her, "What is it you have to tell me?"

"You…" She grimaced, looking around the room with the same kind of paranoia he had been trained to keep in mind. A new kind of paranoia, too, for her. Worrying. "I assume you have already swept for monitoring devices in the laboratory?"

"You assume correctly." He nodded, waving a hand around the room and smiling slightly. "Thoroughly swept the room upon my arrival. STG standard protocol. Some of my own tricks. Destroyed most of the bugs I found. Returned the more expensive ones to Miranda."

"That was… Strangely kind of you."

"Indeed." Destroying them would have been a waste, he didn't explain. He sensed something here that he needed to focus on. Old instincts as much drilled into him by the STG as born in, telling him to focus. "Why do you ask? Do you wish for me to do the same for you and Miss Nikos? I would not mind."

"No, that isn't what I meant, I just..." She blinked and then grimaced again, shaking her head and running fingers through her hair. A comfort mechanism he recognized easily, a lance of worry spiking in his stomach for it. _That_ was new for her, too, and she continued running the fingers of a hand through her hair for a moment before she went on, "I would appreciate it, yes. That is not why I came to speak with you, though."

"Will run the sweep after, then." There was a day or so yet before they reached the Citadel, so he wouldn't lose anything in running one. And besides, Penny clearly had _something_ more important, and thus interesting, she wanted to talk about. "Say what you need to say, Penny. I am here."

"Very well, then…" She murmured, clasping her hands in her lap and taking a deep breath. Finally, she turned to him bodily and said, simply and quietly, "I am not a real girl, Doctor. I-I am an… An android, I believe the best term is."

"Ah." He blinked, "Is that all?"

"C-Come again?" She blinked, eyes snapping to his and back straightening in a typical, very Human, fear response.

"I have been aware of what you are for several weeks." He explained simply, smiling in genuine amusement for her wide-eyed surprise. Chuckling when she only tensed more, he explained, "Suspected it on Omega. Rigged up the weapon's detector for a more intensive scan. Wanted to talk to you, but the plague incident occurred before I was able."

"Oh…"

"Based on behavior patterns, assume that the Commander is aware as well. Miranda too, most likely." The security measures and logs in the _Normandy's_ systems had told him as much. And suddenly, everything clicked into place and he blinked, leaning back a bit with the realization. "They confronted you."

"They did…"

"I see. And are you in danger?" He asked quietly, eyes flicking to the doors and then to his desk and the Predator he kept mag-locked to its underside. Turning back to her he found surprised eyes and her mouth gaping. Shock, he could recognize it and quickly surmised why. "I'm STG. Trained to infiltrate, identify those acting oddly, and pursue why. Observed you, found no threat. Merely wanted to inform you I knew, not confront you."

"Oh." She blinked and smiled, then, this one more genuine, if a bit anxious. "Do you… Trust me, then? Even though you know that I am an artificial person?"

"Real person." He argued quickly, "Artificial _body_." She blinked but he moved on before she could do more than open her mouth. "Never attempted to harm, collect untoward data, or infiltrate my systems. Only ever sought to help. When the clinic was threatened, continued helping. I trust you."

"...Thank you."

"Do not mention it." He smiled, "Extensive analysis and observation to base my trust on. Nothing to be concerned over. Artificial personhood is intriguing though. Would enjoy writing a paper if you would permit it."

"A paper on what, exactly?" She asked warily, adding another question and data-point that added to his fears.

She was anxious, here earlier than anyone else would be up but him in a clear search for privacy, upset at something recent, paranoid now, and her optimism seemed to have been capped...

"Your opinions and beliefs. Small things. Not very private or sensitive, I assure you. A matter for later, perhaps." He answered simply, smiling politely even as his mind raced to the only available conclusion that corresponded to all the data he'd observed. And he needed to know for certain and so asked, "If I may, how did the Commander's confrontation with you go?"

"She…" Penny frowned and, to Mordin's sincere surprise, he saw an edge enter her body. Her shoulders tense, a hand curled into a fist, and her brows knit down along with the edges of her mouth. As close to a snarl as Penny could ever reasonably be described to speak in, she answered, "She threatened to hand us over to Cerberus unless Friend Pyrrha unlocked Friend Garrus' Aura to prove that it wasn't Reaper technology, after he vouched for Legion's non-hostile intentions."

"I see." He nodded. He knew of the Geth, of course, and had long since submitted _that_ data-point to his STG contacts for analysis. Her anger spoke of something he didn't understand, though, and so he spoke. "Don't understand the connotation of 'unlocking Aura' though. You sound upset."

"On Rem-" She cut herself off with a frown and then, after a heartbeat, started again as though nothing had happened, "Where we come from, all are capable of generating an Aura. It merely requires intense stress or, more often, someone close to you activating it at your behest. To activate someone's Aura is to bear your very soul to them, and give a piece of it to them."

"I see." He nodded, more to subtly reassure her he was listening than to do anything else. But then he blinked in understanding, his smile dipping into a frown. Then, it dipped further and, understanding the context of her fury and sharing some of it, he murmured, "She _forced_ Miss Nikos to unlock Garrus'..."

"Yes." Penny nodded, "She did."

"I see." He let his eyes close, fighting an internal war of argument, rationalization and morality for a long second. Finally, he asked, coolly, "What else has she done?"

"She has told us we may not leave the ship's service." Or, presumably, Cerberus would be after them. Powerful they might be, but under volume of arms they would come down as surely as any powerful individual. "Friend Garrus doesn't understand why I am so angry, or why Friend Pyrrha won't come out to train and eat as usual. I… Hoped you would help me, Doctor, as I do not understand what to do in this situation."

"Very well." He nodded, stepping around his desk and bringing his Predator with him, attaching it to his hip. _Just in case_. "You and I should speak to Garrus. Explain to him the meaning around what was done. Then, Subject Zero."

"Jack?"

"Yes." He nodded, noting that he should _probably_ use her name rather than her designation if he wanted to avoid a fight. "Doesn't know you well. But, hates Cerberus. If you are being threatened with Cerberus interrogation, experimentation, she will be on your side. Then we speak to Pyrrha. Lastly, when we dock at the Citadel, the Commander."

"You have a plan…?"

"Yes." He had dozens, in fact, but he simply smiled and gestured towards the door. "Now, we had best not tarry. There is much to do."

"Right. I will follow your lead, Friend Mordin." He nodded and stepped by her, heading towards the door to the CIC only to pause as she added from behind him, voice low and almost ominous. "I do not want a fight, but this cannot stand, Doctor. I… Feel things I have never felt before. Anger. But I don't want to tear this ship apart and let the Collectors hurt all those people."

"I understand." He nodded, half-turning to speak to her directly, smiling even now for her gentle nature. He could see and hear how angry she was, and rightly so, but even now she only wanted to protect people… "Would you be doing this had you been forced the way Miss Nikos was?"

"I… I do not know." She answered quietly, the Salarian able to _see_ the confusion written across her body. An android, confessed to be, and yet so easy to read.

So like a young woman that he found even more reason to doubt his assumptions about life and sentience. Fascinating...

"Nevermind." He shook his head, turning and holding a single finger up. "Focus on the objectives. Secure you and Miss Nikos' safety. Do not destroy the mission. These are all which matter right now."

"Right." She nodded, "Let's do it."

Smiling once again he turned away, letting it return to the more natural frown where she couldn't see. Penny was a fascinating creature, to say the least. Innocent, kind and gentle, even now with plenty of reason to truly snap. She wanted peace and understanding, not vengeance, and had gone out of her way to consider what she was doing likely even before coming to speak to him. Sweet, kind, good-natured and pure even after what was even to him, as an outsider, a clear betrayal...

_Fascinating_.

And something he would protect as well as he could.

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

"Fuckin' cot." Zaeed grumbled, rubbing the crick in his neck and straightening his shirt. He wasn't a morning person at the best of times, he knew, but the awkward bed didn't help that. He gave his old girl, still broken and in pieces where he'd been working on her, a look and sighed, shaking his melancholy off and heading for the door. "Some goddamn coffee and eggs and you'll be right, old bastard."

Instead of an empty elevator, though, the doors slid open to reveal the old Salarian and the little 'tot. The first of whom looked pissed, hands clasped behind his back and shoulders rigid enough that Zaeed paused. A Predator rested on his hip, which he _knew _the alien didn't wear normally since he'd seen him plenty of times around the ship. His eyes flicked to Zaeed's and he frowned, clearly going over something in his head.

Zaeed knew a man on a warpath when he saw one, and he knew when he was being weighed up too.

"You look like you're about fuck somethin' up." He murmured, hand falling from his aching neck when he crossed his arms over his chest. "Somethin' you wanna tell me about?"

"We are going to wake Jack up and speak with her." Penny answered, the man finally turning to look at her.

And then blinking at the hard eyes he found, boring into his own with a pain he understood.

"You okay kid?" Her hands curled into fists and she looked away, Zaeed clicking his tongue and flicking a look between the two of them. Neither answered and he swore quietly. He should just let them be, he knew. Let them walk on and head to get his breakfast while they did whatever they were up to. "What's goin' on, Doc? I didn't know Penny could _not_ smile, but right now she looks about ready to fuck someone up."

"Do you care?" The _tone_ from the girl, so low and aching, gave him pause. When he didn't respond, she frowned and looked away, "You do not need to force yourself, Frien- _Zaeed_. I know you do not like me as much as I would prefer. So I would forgive your disinterest."

Okay, _that_ had him concerned. '_Shit, you're getting involved…'_

"Say I do." He growled after a moment, looking between the girl and the alien, who seemed more than willing to let her do the talking. Penny gave him a look that was clearly asking what he meant and he coughed. "What happens if I care, kid?"

"I would… Have things to tell you." She answered quietly, watching him with the slightest of smiles stretching across her face. "Things about myself, and something done to Best Friend Pyrrha. Something… _Awful_. After, we would speak to Friend Garrus as well."

'_Fuckin' getting soft old man…'_ He sighed, chewing on the inside of his cheek. '_Let it go, let it go… Not your fuckin' business.'_

"Why waste time?" He asked, already kicking himself for it but stepping into the elevator. The Salarian stepped to the side to admit him, keeping him pointedly on his right side where the Predator was. A snap-draw would be easiest there, Zaeed knew. The fuck was he stepping into now…? "Les' just get the scaly bastard down here with us from the get n' go. And wakin' a Biotic bitch up without food n' somethin' to drink is as piss poor an idea as they come."

"Penny?" Mordin asked from across the man.

"He makes a valid point." She answered, stiffening when Zaeed growled and laid a hand on the top of her head. "Z-Zaeed?"

"I like you just fine, kid." He rumbled, crossing his arms after a second and turning a glare on the smiling Salarian beside him. "And you didn't see _shit_."

"Saw nothing." He confirmed, shoulders easing and his smile easing into something that looked a _lot_ less like he wanted to murder something. "Nothing at all."

God damn it, why couldn't he just keep out of it…?

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

Her eyes cracked open as the door opened and shut, long enough for her to see Penny's back vanish beyond the sealed metal door, and Pyrrha sighed. She was off to start training with Garrus, or eat before, Pyrrha figured. But as she had no such duties, and frankly enough didn't _want_ to be out and about, she simply rolled over to rest her head against the cool of the bulkhead and close her eyes again. Sooner or later, she'd have duties to tend to and thus be forced to go out and deal with everyone, but for now she didn't.

And for once, she wanted nothing more than to be left alone.

A chill, familiar wind on her brow told her that wouldn't be a wish which was granted, though. Well, if duty called, she supposed she _had_ to answer…

"Good morning, Dark Lord." She sighed, sitting up on her cot and turning, blinking through a morning yawn she couldn't fight down. She could hear him breathing and turned towards it, murmuring around her fist, "I was worried that something had… Happened… To you..."

"Your concern is touching, child of mine." The God answered quietly, elbows on his knees and hands laced together, his chin resting on top of them. "I am well enough, though as you can see, much has happened."

Around them both, his hall had been reduced to rubble, piled in the barest hint of its shape. Even his throne, though intact, looked new and thus had been destroyed. Standing, she looked around them both to find his lunar world and the planets around it. Instead, she found them floating on what looked like a _chunk_ of that world, drifting in the void and surrounded by the remains of the planets it had drifted alongside.

This… This wasn't his kind of destruction and devastation, it lacked any artistic meaning. And method to the madness.

"What happened…?"

"My brother and I warred." He answered simply, shrugging his dark shoulders and waving a hand at their surroundings. "Did you think a battle between the gods themselves would _not_ devastate all? Our fight destroyed his world and then we came here and continued."

"Is it…"

"Over? No, I should think not." The god laughed and rose, the sound cruel and tired in a way that she never thought she'd hear from a _god_. The way he stood, he looked for the first time in her entire time of knowing him like nothing more than an exhausted person. "No, we have signed a… Truce, for the moment, while I speak to you."

"Speak to me?" She asked, "About what?"

"I saw what happened down there." He answered, making his way down his throne towards her, slowly shrinking down to a form that while still towering over her, fit a far more human size. Gently, he laid a hand on her shoulder and knelt, pulling her into a hug.

"O-Oh…" She murmured, arms coming up in surprise, unsure of what to do now with such sudden affection being heaped onto her from such an unexpectable source.

"I believe this is how Humans comfort each other. If I'm doing it wrong… Well, don't blame me." He murmured, unsurely patting her hair where it trailed down her back. She smiled and returned it, pressing her head into his chest and shaking her head. "I wanted to make sure you were alright, and my brother agreed to a truce while I did."

"I see." The God of Light wasn't evil or cruel, then, and even cared in some odd kind of way. "I'm upset," she spoke into his chest, "but all will be well. There are far greater concerns to deal with than Shepard's ignorant missteps."

"I suppose." He rumbled, rising and stepping back, sitting on the broken stairs that lead up to his throne and giving her a once-over. Quietly, and smiling, he offered, "I could erase her, if you like."

"No, Lord." She smiled, knowing precisely what he was doing, albeit in his own, paternal and _strange_ way. "I don't want you to erase her, Lord. She made a mistake, and is needed to face the Reapers besides."

"Are you quite sure?" He asked, snapping his fingers to make a point. "Just like that and she'd be gone. Or perhaps I could give her cancer? A chronic disease of some kind? I could make sure it wouldn't kick in until well after the Reapers invade. A decade or so. Two if you prefer."

"No, thank you." She laughed, sitting on her cot and letting her smile thin. "To be honest, I… Simply want it to be left alone. We've bigger things to worry about, with the Reapers and you and your brother fighting. Which I don't like, by the way…"

"It happens." He shrugged, reaching up to play a finger along his horn idly. "Soon we will come to an understanding and move on. I… Suppose you face the same, don't you?"

"Yes." She nodded, smiling and moving to sit beside him instead of on her cot. He blinked as she settled in but said, and _did_, nothing about it. Smiling for his comfort with her, she spoke, "I suspect that there will be some time before all is well again, but… Priorities, as I said. And while ignorance does not beget innocence, I will explain what happened when Shepard has time and seek a better peace."

"Hm." He snorted, "I suppose I must do the same, then. I can't have my worshipper outdo me after all?"

"No, you mustn't." She laughed, again able to see him seeking a reason to be _forced_ to do what was best. Quietly, she looked up at a large section of rock and smiled, asking, "That rock… Would you mind?"

"Hm?"

"It would be cathartic if it were to… You know…" With her hand she made a little 'explosion' gesture and smiled awkwardly, unsure of what to say. "If, um, you don't mind, I mean."

"What do you…? Oh!" His eyes widened, the figure shuddering with a small laugh and adjusting in his seat, pointing a single long finger up at it.

From the tip, a lance of bright violet shot forward and up, carving into and through the stone and _detonating_ it with an unbridled, unmatched fury. Fury and beauty, exploding outward like a blooming flower with his purple light flowing between each shard. Then he turned his hand and that light lanced out again, each hunk of stone detonating once more into a bouquet of shattered rock, stone and purple power.

It was beauty through destruction and, for once, she could see it in all its uncontrolled, natural chaos.

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

**RR warning-**

**I have some longer Responses in here since last chapter was a **_**doozy**_**, and I wanted to address them. Sorry, unique situation and won't normally do it, but I made sure to hit the minimum word count in the **_**story stuff**_ **not counting the ANs and stuff.**

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

_**Hamilton and York :**_

**Why? And I mean this question **_**genuinely**_**, too, for future stories I make crossing these universes. **

**Insofar as the RWBY lore is concerned anything with a soul can have an Aura. Some headcanon that it's leftover magic, which I buy, but in this instance I am using the context of 'souls make Aura'. I don't intend on making Aura a super common thing for characters, but I see no reason that they can't have it.**

_**Frosty Chops :**_

**Glad you enjoyed it!**

_**Glrasshopper :**_

**Penny is **_**very**_ **justified in being angry, and I hope this chapter - and arc - make that shit as clear as a well-polished **_**window**_**.**

_**Angry Santo :**_

**The **_**precise**_ **reading I was hoping for when I wrote it. I mostly addressed the reasons why in the AN.**

_**Torrent AB :**_

**Yeah, this arc is called 'Burned Bridges' for a reason, lol.**

_**Shokanabo :**_

**It will not get swept under any rugs, this I promise you.**

_**Steelrain :**_

**Indeed! She's a sharp, hard and frigid Renegade, doing **_**whatever**_ **she believes needed to guarantee the greater good. Such people can still do grave wrongs, though. As is the case here.**

_**Indecisive Bob :**_

**We have three instances of the Reapers getting involved. One is Sovereign and Saren, who only opt for subtlety at all to open the Citadel Relay and flood the galaxy with Reapers. The second example I will make is the ME3 invasion, but that is different for obvious reasons. The **_**third**_**, in ME2, is where the **_**Reapers**_ **are confirmed to be abducting entire colonies. Further they are also confirmed to have been using the Collectors to do precisely this kind of esoteric experimentation for centuries.**

**They're not **_**really**_ **that subtle at all is my point.**

**Penny was detected because a passive security scan detected **_**massive**_ **quantities of **_**some kind**_ **of cybernetics inside her. THAT is what caught their attention, a simple passive scan for bugs and monitoring programs going off. And without better knowledge of Geth and Reaper technology, of which they **_**only**_ **have the former since Saren was upgraded with Geth bits tweaked by Sovereign, all they have to go on is that she's cybernetic at all. **

**And yeah, they have the Husk tech, but that's **_**one type of tech**_**. Compare your phone to your car and you will understand why that example of Reaper technology isn't useful here. Instead, they suspect augmentations or cybernetics, though even **_**they**_ **aren't **_**sure**_ **what they suspect.**

**Scans of Penny would have shown that she isn't using **_**Geth**_ **technology. But they'd be forced to trust her when she says it isn't **_**Reaper**_ **technology for the previous reasons. I actually had a long scene where they do just that, scanning her and being forced into the Aura question anyways since they wouldn't be able to **_**identify**_ **this technology. **

**Seemed unneeded to me to add that, I guess.**

**As you say, the only other option **_**is**_ **the weird secret colony or project run by the Alliance. Which Cerberus **_**would**_ **know about due to their origin. Since they don't, though, that means that either magic soul powers exist or tech is doing it. And tech already lets people float shit with their minds, so...**

**Pyrrha proving that Souls power Aura since there can **_**not**_ **be any tech in Garrus and there could conceivably be something in Pyrrha they can't detect concretely disproves that tech is involved. With Garrus' own word regarding Legion's seemingly non-hostile intent, they only have Penny's internals which while mysterious, everyone involved accepts aren't grounds to do anything but monitor them and let them prove what they say.**

**You and I have perfect information and thus know the Reapers lack the ability to make tech that could do these things. **_**Shepard and Miranda**_**, though, don't have that. **

**Whoo, holy shit but that was a long RR. I hope I addressed everything and if you have more questions, please DM me. I don't wanna pad the word-count too much with RRs.**


	23. Burnt Bridges - Finale(?)

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

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_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

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_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

Garrus felt sick to his stomach for the first time in years, sitting on his bunk with his head in his hands, talons digging into the flesh around and under his crest as though to tear it out. In the back of his mind he just barely registered the faint sting of his claws scraping into his skin, cutting shallowly around his ridged crest. But his head throbbed for more reasons than that, though. Like how your own heartbeat could make an open wound scream, his head spun and throbbed with every moment, spinning to match the almost violent churning of his stomach.

A stomach he'd already emptied into his wastebin, else he'd have his head in the little metal thing even now.

"I didn't know, Penny." He finally murmured to the android sitting beside him. She hummed and, quietly but firmly, he went on, voice warbling involuntarily from high pitches to low. "If I'd known, I wouldn't have let Shepard… I wouldn't have been a part of that, Penny."

"I believe you." The android beside him smiled, her hands folded in her lap and her legs swinging back and forth under his cot. He was decently tall for a Turian and she was short for a Human, so that meant that what was for him a comfortable height for his cot left her feet dangling inches from the floor. "I would not have come to speak with you at all if I believed that you were a bad person, Friend Garrus. I know you would not have done what you did had you known."

"Thank you…" That she could say that without a hiccup told him she meant it, and as much faith as she was placing in him, he would place enough in her to believe what she said in the Med-Bay. "I just… Wish I'd known."

"Ignorance ain't innocence, Scales. You know that." Zaeed growled from his spot leaning against the locked door that led out, into the common area beyond. Garrus' flanges flicked in a silent threat but the man went on, unafraid of him, "You did what you did, and that's the end of it. Bitchin' about it won't change a damn thing now."

"You think I don't know that, Zaeed?" He snarled, flanges flicking as he rose and scowled at the mercenary. Storming across the room and pressing his face into Zaeed's he snarled, close enough that the man could probably smell his breakfast, "I did something awful because I didn't know any better... A-And I had orders to follow."

"Just following orders has always been a shitty excuse, Scales."

"Yeah, well, how was I supposed to know any better!?" Garrus growled, "I'm a Turian and I was a Turian with orders! I-I had to follow them!"

"Like I said before." Zaeed shrugged, smiling in his face, "Ignorance ain't innocence, Scales, and 'just following orders' is a bullshit line."

"Zaeed, I understand why you are upset, but that's enough." Penny interrupted, before Garrus could say anything. Firmly, more so than he had ever heard her, the little woman ordered, "We're going to stop this infighting. It is meaningless, and though I understand it is because we are all upset, Garrus isn't the one we are upset with. Else we wouldn't have come to talk to him."

"Indeed." Mordin finally spoke, laying a gentle hand on Garrus' shoulder to urge him back and away from the mercenary. Flanges flicking agitatedly, he turned to stalk away, past the doctor and to his desk "Here for allies, not enemies. Said both your pieces. Let it go."

"Fine." The mercenary sighed, "If you say so, Doc."

"Right, yeah. Let it go..." Garus sighed, took a deep breath, and forced himself to at least _try_ to calm down. It didn't work, of course, but he had to try, and the trying at least gave him something to focus on long enough to compose himself. Leaning his knuckles on the cluttered work table he asked, "Penny, please, can she take it back?"

"Take it back…?"

"Aura." He growled, turning to give the little android a hard stare. She blinked, confused and thinking through what he'd said, "She gave me part of herself to… To give me Aura, but I didn't know that. I don't _want_ it and I don't need it. Can she take it back?"

"Oh." The android blinked and then, after a second, actually laughed. A little giggle, rather, but a laugh nonetheless.

"I wasn't joking…"

"No, Friend Garrus, I-I know you weren't." She assured him, standing and bouncing around past her two friends to, to his surprise, give him a _hug_. He blinked, mandibles flicking unsurely, but she bounced back and away to stand between her two companions by the door. Smiling sadly, she explained, "You cannot ever give back what you took, Friend Garrus. Your soul has been unshackled, and Best Friend Pyrrha gave you a piece of hers to do it. Neither action can be undone, any more than you can undo the taking of a life."

"I see…" He sighed, turning to lean on his knuckles once more. Growling, he shook his head, "Damn it, I guess I should have expected that. But I guess that would have been too easy, anyway."

"It would, but sadly, it is impossible." Smiling wider Penny turned a look at Zaeed's crossed arms and then crossed her own in the same way. Though it lacked the same heat Zaeed's posture had, her smile quickly faded and robbed it of any warmth it might have offered the room.

Instead, it only made his chest ache and his flanges flick.

"We need to stay focused, and I need you to understand that while you can't take back what happened, Shepard is responsible for this. Not you." Penny's smile never wavered as she stared him down, adding after a moment, "That you come to understand this is imperative."

"Right…" He nodded, sighing and running his hands over his crest absently. "I'll try, just… Give me time and something to focus on."

"We will." The android smiled, "We are intending on putting this entire matter to rest, in fact. So you have plenty of time to process these things. And I am here for you."

"Good segue to our purpose here." Mordin took the opportunity to add, smiling pleasantly at the girl and explaining, "Planning confrontation. Or intervention. Both words work. But the squad and the mission can't go forward like this."

"Yeah." Garrus nodded, "I get that. So what, us four? I don't imagine Miranda is someone we want to try and get for this little endeavour."

"We're going to get New Friend Jack, too!" Penny smiled as she said it, but as she went on it soured, turning from genuine warmth to a forced, artificial thing. "She dislikes Cerberus and so the hope is that what they threatened to do to us will be enough to convince her."

"I threatened you, too…" He murmured, his voice warbling into its higher pitch once more before he could catch it.

"No, you did not." Penny smiled, dismissing his contrition easily and smiling for it. "Shepard did and Miranda did, but you just did what you were told. And besides, you are already quite apologetic. So even if you think you did, then I forgive you!"

"Right…" Well, he supposed there really was nothing else to do about it. If Penny wanted them to move on, and forgave him, then all he could do was wait and apologize to Pyrrha later. "Well, let's get it over with, I guess. I'm not _crazy_ about talking to someone like Jack, but… Well, it's not my plan."

"Sensible." The doctor nodded, turning to his companions and smiling politely. "It is likely we have been noticed already, in any event. So we had best get underway before the Commander is notified and intervenes."

"She can't do much since we're not out to mutiny and take the ship or nothin'." Zaeed shrugged, explaining for Garrus sake. Or so he assumed, at least, from the way the man was looking at him. "But if we want a show of it, we need the whole squad. Makes the point harder to ignore."

"That's our plan." Penny nodded, smile vanishing as her voice became quiet and grave. "A show of unity, to make clear that we will _not_, as a group of friends, tolerate this mistreatment any more. With the five of us, she will be forced to understand that she cannot continue like this. And that she cannot threaten us in such a manner as she did. Not _any_ of us."

"Yeah." Garrus nodded. "Not any of us."

"So then." Mordin prompted them, gesturing at the door with a wave of his hand. "Shall we go? Much to do. And it is doubtful Subject-" He blinked, "Jack. Jack is not a trusting person. Cooperation unlikely to come easily to her."

_That_ absolutely no one had a counter to and so under the old Salarian's direction, they made their way out and to the elevator. Hopefully, Jack wouldn't be _too_ hard to get on their side. But then, even if they _couldn't_, they still had everyone else. Shepard was a reasonable woman, as long as you approached her right. He'd known her for years, now, he understood her and she understood him.

She'd listen to him, at the very least, he was sure of it.

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

"So you wanna get the Cerberus bitch and the Commander in a room and call 'em out with everyone there?" Jack asked, sat on a stack of crates in the middle of the Engineering deck's under-decking where she was staying. The rest of them were left standing at the other end, in the crossroad between the stairs with nowhere to sit. "And you're assuming I'll be in on it since it means stickin' it to the Bitch. That sound about right?"

"Yes, that sounds about right." Penny answered, the near-nude woman humming and taking a bite of the sandwich they'd brought her. Taking the opportunity to speak, she explained, hoping that she could preempt the resistance they _all_ anticipated. "I will of course understand if you do not wish to help us, Friend Jack. We simply wished to try and convince you to help us. We would very much appreciate if-"

"Not your damn friend." The woman interrupted with a growl and her mouth full, entirely uncaring about basic manners. Father would have hated her... "And I'm not all that interested in any of your personal shit, Robot Girl."

"Oh…" Penny blinked, surprised by the woman's rebuke. "I did not mean to be a bother."

"Yeah,well, maybe think about that next time _before_ you wake someone up to drop your baggage on them."

"Hey, don't be a bitch about it." Zaeed snapped, laying a hand on her shoulder and giving it a reassuring squeeze. She turned to look up at him but he only grimaced, avoiding her gaze and snapping, "Shit's hard enough on the little lady as it is. If you don't wanna help us out that's just goddamn fine, but you ain't got any reason to be a cunt to her."

"Going soft on the robot?" The woman laughed, eyeing him up and smiling viciously. "I mean, I dunno if she has the right _parts_, but if that's the shit you're into then-"

"Finish that god damn sentence and I'll rip your damn head off you skinny b-!" Zaeed snarled as he surged toward the woman. Penny's hands snapped out, grabbing his arm as it left her shoulder and pulling him back. Turning his glower on her he grumbled, "What? You can't think I'm gonna let that shit slide."

"Friend Jack simply has a sharp sense of humor, Friend Zaeed." She smiled, tugging him back to her side and giving him a meaningful little look, doing her best impression of Weiss' somehow playful yet simultaneously chiding tone. "She means no harm, she is simply being funny in her own coarse way. And it is a friend's responsibility to understand a friend's sense of humor and accept it."

"...The fuck?" Jack blinked, shaking her head slowly as if confused. "I-I'm not fucking joking-"

"Your jokes are very funny in your own way, friend Jack." Penny smiled, cocking her head to the side playfully, gently chiding her. "But please, try not to derail us. We are trying to have a conversation. Please try and stay on the same page as the rest of us."

"Just… _You_ are fuckin' crazy, Polendina. Ain't nobody that's ever said that kind of shit to my face with a smile like that." Jack murmured slowly before laughing and shaking her head when Penny simply shrugged, the convict suddenly happier than Penny had seen her since they'd met. Shrugging, finally, Jack leaned back and sighed, "I like you, robot tits or not. You said that cerberus bitch threatened to turn you over to their 'scientists' for tests?"

"That was the implication, yes." She nodded, frowning thinly as she recalled it. "They mentioned investigation, interrogations and the like."

"Cerberus bastards put me in a lab, once." She growled, scratching at a place on the back of her neck and grimacing. As though she'd smelled something foul, or tasted something incredibly, painfully sour. Shaking her head and folding her arms, the woman sighed, "Fuck it. I'm in."

"Really…?"

"What?" She growled, "So surprised I'm willing to stick it to that Cerberus cunt, Bird Brain?"

"I mean, kind of, yeah." Garrus shrugged, hand snapping up to bat the can she threw at him out of the air. "Did you just throw a can at me…?"

"Yes, I did, now shut the fuck up before I throw a _crate_ at your soul raping ass." Garrus hissed at that and Penny frowned, stepping forward and opening her mouth to defend her admittedly somewhat birdlike friend. But Jack saw it coming and waved her off, sighing boredly. "Whatever, it was just a damn joke, I guess. Anyway, I'm in on this little game so when are we playing?"

"Once we dock with the Citadel." Mordin explained simply, smiling calmly as he had been the entire time. "There, we can withdraw if need be. Into the Citadel. Safe enough, assuming the authorities don't detect that she is synthetic. Would be unfortunate, though. Collectors harming many, and stopping them will be difficult on our own."

"I've got some friends that would help us, if we asked 'em." Zaeed grunted, frowning after a moment and adding. "But, ah, I don't wanna talk about that here. You, that AI bitch might not have reasons to watch. But this psycho? She's new and fuckin' crazy, so we probably have a peanut gallery."

"Untrue." Mordin smiled, holding up a hand and letting them all see his palm. On it sat a little square, no wider or thicker than Penny's own little thumb. In its center, a little spot glowed a dim green. "This is a jammer. Designed it myself. Short range but very effective. Even STG operatives would have difficulties bypassing it. Cerberus listening devices and security… Lower than STG standard."

"Oh." Penny blinked, smiling widely. "That is very impressive, Friend Mordin! I did not know you had such a device on hand."

"Thank you." He smiled, turning to the others and going on, "Our movements will have been noticed. Nothing will be known about our intentions. So for now, we should adjourn. Wait until we reach the Citadel. Then, reconvene and confront the Commander. Penny, will you make sure Pyrrha is present?"

"I can, yes." It would be difficult, to be sure, with how sad she'd been. But it was possible at least, even if Penny had to trick her. On that note, she had an idea... "I suggest we agree to go to dinner together on the Citadel. Friend Mordin, Friend Garrus and I. That way, I can convince Best Friend Pyrrha that she is expected to attend and get her to come with me without it being a lie."

"Why's lying matter…?"

"Ah, well…" Garrus grimaced and looked to her for permission and then, when she nodded, explained for Jack. "She, uh, hiccups when she tries to lie. So she needs whatever she says to be true."

"That plan is acceptable." Mordin said, nodding when the others did. "So we adjourn for now. We will reconvene when we reach the Citadel. Until then, do nothing suspicious."

"Yeah, yeah, y'all got your plan." Jack sighed, yawning and turning a meaningful eye on her messy looking cot. "Now mind fuckin' off? I wanna get back to sleep, unless somethin' interesting is happening right now. Which it ain't."

Shrugging, Penny turned to leave, followed by her little cluster of somewhat new, and _very_ protective friends. As the elevator closed she blinked and turned to Mordin, "Would you mind sweeping my quarters now then? I would enjoy being unwatched while I sleep."

"It would be a pleasure." Mordin smiled, "Need to retrieve a baggy first. Would like to return most expensive devices to Miranda. Only polite."

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

"I would have preferred not to need to go out today, Penny." Pyrrha sighed as the _Normandy_ shuddered gently all along its length, docking with the Citadel at long last. At Penny's pout, Pyrrha resisted the urge to smile, thinking of the same pout on a pale, silver-eyed girl from another life. "Garrus needs his training, as well. I would not see what I have given to him wasted."

"I know." Penny assured her, murmuring after a moment, "Even if you didn't wish to give it to him, it would be a shame to waste it…"

"What is done is done, Penny, and cannot be _un_done." Pyrrha sighed, turning a small smile on the little android that felt forced and thin even to Pyrrha herself. Penny's lips thinned and her brows came down and Pyrrha sighed, reaching for the easy change in subject before Penny could challenge her. "We have graver concerns than this right now, Penny. The Collectors, the Reapers, the _gods_…"

"We have a lot on our plates, on that we can agree." Penny agreed, taking a seat beside her on the little cot Pyrrha had pressed against the wall. Snatching up her hand and holding it in both of her own, the android smiled, "Only more reason to lean on your friends in these situations, though. Is it not?"

"I suppose…" And with that Penny had her well enough trapped, drawing a weary and more resigned sigh from Pyrrha for it. Smiling and standing, she caved, "Fine. I'm going to get a shower and get dressed then, I suppose."

"Alright!" Penny smiled, bouncing away excitedly, "I will tell everyone to get ready then!"

"Everyone?" Pyrrha blinked in confusion, rising to ask what she meant, "Who is 'everyone', though? I thought it was only going to be a few of-"

The heavy, armored door slamming shut behind Penny cut her off suitably and Pyrrha sighed, shaking her head and shrugging the matter off. Penny, as admittedly stubborn and earnest as she was being, didn't mean any _harm_. And even as frustrated as it had her, Pyrrha still knew that. But Penny wasn't one to purposefully cause trouble and, with as much as Pyrrha herself argued they _should_ let it go and move on, it was past time she got out of the room and _did that_.

And a trip to the Citadel for a dinner and a walk, assuming the Commander _permitted_ as much, sounded like a good enough _start_. After a nice, hot shower to take her mind off of everything, at least. As ineffective as they'd been so far, she could at least enjoy the privacy she was granted in the showers. Assuming she wasn't being monitored and recorded in _there_, too, that was…

"Don't think about it." She reminded herself as she stripped down and set the water to run and hear, "Bigger things to focus on."

Hair falling loose around her shoulders, she pulled on the old, somewhat weathered by now, hardsuit she and Legion had bought. Over time she'd adjusted to the way it hugged her and showed her off, though Dark Brother be praised it didn't do to her what Lawson's did, but even so she preferred to wear her gear over it. The weight was a familiar comfort, and the metal armor enabled her Semblance where the undersuit did not. An Aura and Semblance backed kick to the head could surprise even a Krogan, she'd learned.

And that was _not_ something to be ignored, for obvious reasons.

Feeling cleaner, if not better all around, than she had for a long while, she put a smile on her face and stepped into the hall. "Oh," she blinked, smile polite but thinning, "hello, Zaeed. How are you today?"

"Pissed the hell off, kid, s'how I'm doin'." The armored _and_ armed man growled, looking around the hallway warily, like he knew a fight was coming but not from where. "How you doin', though, Red? Feelin' alright?"

"Yes." She answered before the oddity of who was asking the question struck her and she frowned, cocking her head to the side. "Why do you ask?"

"I don't fuckin' know," the man shrugged, "just seemed the polite thing to say."

"Exactly." She cut him off, eyes narrowing with a kind of suspicion she _never_ would have entertained back on Remnant. But dying had a way of changing you, she supposed for not the first time. "It is the _polite_ thing to say, but you are _Zaeed Massani_. Why do you_, Zaeed Massani_, ask? Being _polite_ isn't something you are known to put high on your list of things to do, to my mind."

"It was just a fuckin' question…"

"I suppose you have a point." She sighed, shaking her head and forcing that suspicion down. Quietly, she said, "I'm sorry, then, Zaeed. I shouldn't have assumed. I'm assuming you are waiting outside the women's restroom for a reason, though. Were you looking for me? Penny, maybe?"

"The first one 'cus the second one sent me to get you." Her brows narrowed but the man had already turned away, walking towards the elevator and grunting over his shoulder, "C'mon then, Red. Got shit to get to that needs gettin' to."

"What kind of-"

"The kind you'll get to in, like, five goddamn minutes if you just c'mon." Zaeed grunted, leaving little room for her to do anything but follow him to the elevator. Once she was inside and the doors slid close, the man punched the elevator button to send them down and sighed like a man with more than his share of weight on his shoulders.

"Are you… Okay, Zaeed?" The man gave her a look, his one properly _there_ brow rising in a clear question, and she grimaced. "That sigh, I've… Heard it from people before." Pyrrha herself among them, too, when Ozpin's offer weighed down on her shoulders. "We may not be on anything more than diplomatic terms, but… Are you alright?"

"God, you're just… Just the _exact_ kinda person I thought you were, aren't you?" She blinked and shook her head confoundedly, brows knitting down in confusion, but Zaeed was already laughing his own question off. "Nothin', Red. You'll figure it out here in a minute anyway, so just wait it out."

"I suppose…" _That_ was a foreboding end to the conversation, to say the least, but the gentle shudder of the elevator coming to a stop cut off any more conversation.

The cargo bay was a place she'd been many times, for sparring, training and pre-mission preparations alike. Each time it was different, stocked properly for whatever purpose they needed it to fill. Today was no different, with stacks and stacks of empty steel crates waiting against the walls and crewmen walking down the line going over them. They were doing a last inventory check, she knew, before they began restocking aboard the Citadel. The white and black Kodiak dominated the left of the center of the bay, lifted up on metal brackets for servicing while fresh parts for repairs and updates were freely available and surrounded by tools.

Beside it, armored and armed as though about to climb onto the shuttle and shoot off for a mission, stood the ground team. Or, well, _most_ of it, Lawson and Shepard both absent for reasons she wasn't sure of. Seeing them coming, Garrus turned to Penny and seemed to rush to speak to her, mandibles flicking frantically. Smiling, Penny gave the alien's forearm a pat and nodded, turning towards her.

Stranger and stranger, but still she smiled, waving as she reached them, "Hello again, how are-"

"I'm so sorry!" Garrus suddenly cut in, trying to move towards her but stopping when Penny grabbed his armored shoulder and tugged him back. Gesturing at the small woman, who was showing off _far_ more strength than she should be given what a normal Human would be able to, he explained, "Penny told us everything, _explained_ everything, Nikos. Aura, what it really, _really_ means to do what you- I would _never_ have let Shepard order that if I'd known."

"Good fuckin' job Scales." Zaeed sighed, tugging her along until she was standing in front

"Penny… Explained…" Blood running cold, she turned slowly to the android for answers. When Penny only smiled sheepishly, Pyrrha felt cool fear and shock fade, replaced by a wave of anger. "_What_ did you tell them, Penny? What _exactly_ did you explain?"

"What I am." Penny blinked, eyes widening in shock. Her anger must have shown through _very_ clearly because Penny frowned, eyes flat and cautious. "And what Aura means. What was done to you came with understanding that, but I explained it, too. That was all, though, I didn't explain anything else."

"I-I see." She sighed, crossing an arm over her chest and leaning her other elbow on it, pinching her nose to _try_ and get her calm back. Between the lines, she read, was that Penny had _not_ told them about the gods. Still, "_Why_ did you do this then, exactly?"

"To protect you, of course." Penny said as though it were obvious, smiling and turning to look at the group that she'd apparently _assembled_. "When they all understood what had happened, and what it meant, they were angry. And now we are going to confront the Commander together to make it _very_ clear that her threats and behavior are unacceptable and will not be-"

"You're all going to do _what_?!" She shrieked, loud enough that the assembled group actually _flinched_ for it.

"Why are you screaming?" A quiet, cool voice asked from behind her, Pyrrha spinning on a heel to meet the Commander's impassive face, her helmet tucked under an arm. Her panic had to be clear now, too, for the woman's eyes narrowed suspiciously, flicking from her to Penny and then to the rest of the group. "What is happening here, Nikos? What are you and Polendina doing?"

"W-We were going to go out to eat on the Citadel." Pyrrha offered anxiously.

"No you aren't, you're confined to the ship." The woman growled, rating her free hand on her sidearm at her waist meaningfully. "Or did you forget our _conversation_, Nikos? You're already on a short leash, you and Polendina both, but if you want it tighter-"

"Over my dead body." Garrus suddenly snarled, talons gripping her shoulder and pulling her back, behind the _wall_ of armored bodies that formed in front of her. Snarling and towering over the surprised looking, smaller Human woman, the Turian snarled, "Bad enough you made me force myself on her, I won't _let_ you threaten them anymore."

"What are you talking about?" Shepard asked, stepping back and away from the man. Garrus made to follow but Penny, between him and Mordin and in front of her, pulled him back into the line. Seeing the Turian's anger, her impassive face finally broke, the faintest hint of _fear_ coloring it, "What has gotten into you, Garrus? Forced yourself on… I don't understand."

"Explained _everything_ to us." Mordin offered, standing beside the armored Turian with his hands clasped behind his waist. "Touching souls is intimate. More intimate than sex. You _forced_ her to do it. What better description is there other than forcing him on her?"

"I-I had to, to get proof that she wasn't a-"

"You made me _rape_ her _soul_!" Garrus finally snarled, yanking free of Penny's grip and surging forward.

The Commander flinched, dropping her helmet and sliding instinctively into a defensive stance, but Garrus' hands closed around her forearms. Wrenching her up he turned, throwing her bodily against the Kodiak's side and then shoving Mordin and Zaeed aside as they tried to get between him and her. One hand closed around her throat and the other slammed against the Kodiak, the Turian snarling and _hissing_ a threat as he pressed his face close to hers. Her knee slammed up and into his armored chest but he ignored it, glaring hate and pain at the woman.

"I'm a Spirits forgotten monster, Shepard!" He snarled in her face, grabbing her Carnifex when she brought it up to threaten him. Wrenching it up and into his throat, he slammed her back against the Kodiak again, "I dare you! What you made me do, might as well go out standing up for the woman I-"

"Enough of this!" Pyrrha snapped, surging forward and through the line of defenders. Surprised by her sudden rush, they didn't catch her and so she slammed into Garrus' side, slamming her palm all along his side and then flaring her Aura to _hurl_ him away. He hit the ground a foot away and rolled to a knee, looking at her with wide eyes.

"That is _enough_, all of you." She snarled, Shepard behind her, leaning against the Kodiak and with Pyrrha standing in front of her protectively. Straightening, she turned a heated glare on each of them and spoke, clearly and loudly, "We have _bigger_ problems than this, damn it! The Collectors are abducting _thousands_ to cut apart and do Dark Brother only knows what else! I am _not_ going to be the one that puts the mission to stop that in jeopardy!"

"But Friend Pyrrha, she-"

"I know what she did, Penny!" Pyrrha snapped, the girl blinking at the heat and reprisal in her voice. A pang of guilt hit Pyrrha for that but she pressed on in spite of it, "What she did was awful. But I would give far more of myself to protect innocent people and do what is right, and you _know_ that for a _fact_, Penny. Better than anyone, you know what I will pay to do what is right."

"I-I do…" She nodded, frown hardening after a moment. "B-But I couldn't let this stand! The threats, the anxiety, and what if she forced you to do it again? Or _me_? This precedent could not be left to stand!"

"Then let it fall!" Pyrrha snarled, turning to the Commander and pointing a long finger in her surprised face, "What you did was _awful_, Shepard. You stole part of my soul for your damn paranoia. But that paranoia dies _here_. We are allies, and we will _trust each other_. No tight leashes, no threats, _nothing_."

"I can't guarantee that." Shepard countered quietly, "The Reapers can indoctrinate anyone. Without my paranoia, you could have destroyed the mission and-"

"If I wanted to destroy the mission I'd not have intervened." Pyrrha interrupted, the simple point shutting the woman up. Stepping back she offered her a hand up, off of the shuttle she was leaning against, and offered simply, "We're starting anew, right now. No paranoia, no threats, no shackles. You trust me and apologize, and we all move on together. As a unit, to face the Collectors and the Reapers. The _real_ enemy."

"...Fine." She murmured, taking the hand and letting herself be pulled off the shuttle's hull. Giving Garrus a look over Pyrrha's shoulder the woman grimaced, "I'm not apologizing for testing you, though. I had to. But… I can apologize for being wrong, at least. You're right, if you were a Reaper agent, this would have accomplished your mission."

"That's fine enough, as long as you let it all go now." And though she sensed some heat from the woman, and from Garrus behind her, there was at least a _tense _peace. To that end she turned, looking at each of them, "This is _my_ solution to _my_ problem. I trust that you all can accept it? Good."

Turning to leave she paused and sighed, saying over her shoulder, "Thank you all for coming to my aid. Just, next time, _speak_ to me first?"

At their various grunts of affirmation, Pyrrha took her leave, headed back to the elevator and then to the bathroom again. Her head was aching, now, and a hot shower would ease it. And, as a side benefit, meant that she wouldn't be there while everyone cooled down.

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

**Quick clarification-**

**This problem is 'resting' not 'resolved'. It won't come up again for a while, but rest assured that the complexity at play here isn't just getting washed off the cutting board. They're all agreeing to set it aside for now to focus on the bigger, more evident threat. And each character's logic leads to this being the best conclusion. They wanted Penny and Pyrrha out from under the heel they were under, which they got. And Shepard has CONCRETE PROOF now, by stated logic there at the end, that Pyrrha isn't on the Collector's side.**

**Enough, at least, to ease off and extend some real **_**trust**_**.**

**And for those like Espacole who asked-**

**The difference between here and her meeting and giving Jaune Aura is two-fold. One, Pyrrha **_**actively consented**_ **there where she did not here. Two, she anticipated half a decade of her life being spent with him. These differences are why the situations are different. **

_**XxX-XxX-XxX**_

_**Reading Friend :**_

**I do have a schedule, yes! Iit's on discord if you want to see it, but generally it's a rotation. Once you get the feel for it you'll know it.**

_**Artekha :**_

**I do too, which is why Rookie's version of Shepard is so much more natural for me. I wanted to do more than one Shepard, though, so it wasn't always the same character.**

_**Australia Dealer :**_

**This is a Renegade Shepard but there are some decisions I don't even consider Renegade in ME. Like leaving Zaeed pinned to die. THOSE I will say at the front I don't intend to do.**

_**Mister Cuddlesworth :**_

**Glad you're enjoying! And yeah, the theme of this short arc is 'ignorance causes as much harm as maliciousness'.**

_**ArchAngel319 :**_

**This is, or was - I do RRs before the chapter so the arc MAY be over already - a short arc. But one that I am using to pay off, and set up, a handful of things. Hope you enjoy!**

_**Glrasshopper :**_

**Penny, maker of friends, builder of armies and kicker of asses if you somehow manage to piss her off enough she wants to.**

_**Tpoynt :**_

**A lot to address there but Imma let the story do it, lol. Hope you continue enjoying!**

_**Henri9897 :**_

**While his Aura will **_**matter**_**, if he ever gets to 'takes a rocket to the face and lives' levels it won't be for a very, **_**very**_ **long time after very, **_**very**_ **extensive training. I can assure you of that.**

_**Double 2 Cat :**_

**Schrodinger's Penny Protecc Squad. No one quite knows what its truth is.**

_**Angry Santo :**_

'**Murderous tsundere grandpa' is now on my list of 'terms that I will never not use'. Thanks, lol.**


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